What is laparoscopic surgery?

"Laparoscopic" or "minimally invasive surgery" is a technique of approach to perform surgical procedures with a lower degree of invasion to the patient, which allows a quick recovery, less pain and better aesthetic results.

Initially this technique began to be used in gynecological surgery and gallbladder surgery, however, in recent years, the use of this technique has expanded significantly and today it is possible to perform a wide variety of surgical procedures through minimally invasive methods.

In traditional "open" surgery, the surgeon uses a single incision to access the abdomen. Laparoscopic surgery uses several 0.5 to 1 cm incisions. Each incision is called a "port". A tubular instrument known as a trocar is inserted into each port. During the procedure, specialized instruments and a special camera called a laparoscope are passed through the trocars. At the start of the procedure, the abdomen is inflated with a gas called carbon dioxide to provide the surgeon a room to work and visibility. The laparoscope transmits images of the abdominal cavity to high-resolution video monitors in the operating room.

During the operation, the surgeon observes detailed images of the abdomen on the monitor. The system allows the surgeon to perform the same operations as traditional surgery, but with smaller incisions.



What kind of operations can be performed with laparoscopic surgery?

Most abdominal, intestinal, gynecological, thoracic, thyroid, and urological surgeries can be performed with the minimally invasive technique. These include surgery for gall bladder, appendix, stomach, intestine, kidney, hysterectomy, ovaries, etc.

Recently, a technique for thyroid surgery (thyroidectomy) has been developed in which we also perform minimally invasive surgery through the lower lip without leaving visible scars.