Laproscopic Surgery

Laparoscopy is a type of surgery that uses smaller cuts than you might expect. The process takes its name from the laparoscope, a slender tool that has a tiny video camera and light on the end. When a surgeon inserts it through a small cut and into your body, they can look at a video monitor and see what’s happening inside you. Without those tools, they’d have to make a much larger opening. Thanks to special instruments, your surgeon won’t have to reach into your body, either. That also means less cutting.

In laparoscopic surgery, the surgeon makes several small cuts. Usually, each one is no more than a half-inch long. (That's why it's sometimes called keyhole surgery.) They insert a tube through each opening, and the camera and surgical instruments go through those. Then the surgeon does the operation.

In some operations, the surgeon can put the camera and the surgical tool through the same opening in the skin. This means less scarring. But it’s trickier for the surgeon because the instruments are so close together.