What is Laparoscopy?
Laparoscopy is a surgical diagnostic procedure that is used to examine the condition of the organs inside the abdomen. It has lower risk and is a minimally invasive procedure that requires only small incisions.
Laparoscopic treatment involves an instrument known as laparoscope to check the abdominal organs. The instrument is a long and a thin tube having a high-intensity light and a high-resolution camera at the front which helps at detecting any issue with the abdominal organ. The instrument is inserted through an incision in the abdominal wall. As it moves along, the camera sends high-resolution images to a video monitor.
Why is laparoscopy procedure conducted?
Laparoscopy is utilized to identify and diagnose the source of pelvic or abdominal pain that a person is experiencing. The laparoscopic procedure is taken as the alternate route when the noninvasive methods are unable to help with diagnosing the abdominal problems.
Abdominal problems are usually diagnosed with imaging techniques such as:
- Ultrasound that uses high-frequency sound waves to create images of the body
- CT scan that is a series of special X-rays that take cross-sectional images of the body
- MRI scan which uses magnets and radio waves to produce images of the body
Laparoscopy is performed when these tests do not provide enough information or insight for a diagnosis of the abdominal organs. Laparoscopy is performed for the following organs:
Your doctor may recommend a laparoscopy to examine the following organs:
- appendix
- gallbladder
- liver
- pancreas
- small intestine and large intestine (colon)
- spleen
- stomach
- pelvic or reproductive organs
What problems can laparoscopy be used to diagnose and treat?
Laparoscopy can be used to look for the cause of chronic pelvic pain, infertility, or a pelvic mass. If any abdominal issue is found, it can be treated at the same time during the surgery. Laparoscopy is also used to diagnose and treat the following medical conditions:
- Endometriosis— Endometriosis is a disorder in which tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus. With endometriosis, the tissue can be found on the ovaries, fallopian tubes or the intestines. When one is suffering from endometriosis and medications are not helping, a laparoscopy may be recommended in that case. The laparoscope is used to see inside one’s pelvis. If endometriosis tissue is found, it often can be removed during the same procedure.
- Fibroids— Fibroids are growths that form inside the wall of the uterus or outside the uterus. Most fibroids are benign (not cancerous), but a very small number are malignant (cancerous). Fibroids can cause pain or heavy bleeding. Laparoscopy sometimes can be used to remove them.
- Ovarian Cyst—Some women have cysts that develop on the ovaries. The cysts often go away without treatment. But when it does not, they can be removed with laparoscopy.
- Ectopic pregnancy— It is a condition of pregnancy in which the fertilised egg implants outside the uterus. However, the fertilised egg cannot survive outside the uterus. If it is left to grow like this, it may damage nearby organs and cause life-threatening loss of blood. Laparoscopy may be done to remove an ectopic pregnancy.
- Pelvic floor disorders— Laparoscopic surgery can be used to treat urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.
- Cancer— Some types of cancer can be removed using laparoscopy depending on the kind of cancer.
What are the benefits of laparoscopy?
The major benefit of laparoscopy is that there is less pain in laparoscopic surgery than the usual abdominal surgeries, which involves larger incisions, longer hospital stays, and longer recovery times. Recovery from laparoscopic surgery generally is faster than recovery from open abdominal surgery. The smaller incisions that are used allow you to heal faster and have smaller scars. The risk of infection also is lower than with laparoscopy.