Laparoscopy:
The term used to describe an operation or procedure in which the surgeon uses an instrument called a laparoscope to view the inside of the abdominal (stomach area) cavity, without making the traditional large incision. The laparoscope is an instrument that has a fiberoptic system in the scope, which is introduced into the abdominal cavity via a small (less than a centimeter) incision. The surgeon can then attach a video camera to the scope and view the inside of the abdomen with the scope and camera. By introducing other instruments via similar small incisions, many operations can be done without having to "open" the patient’s abdominal cavity. The advantage to this laparoscopic approach is that the patient recovers more quickly and has potentially less postoperative pain.
|
