Laparoscopic surgery - series

A number of different procedures can be performed laparoscopically, including gallbladder removal (laparoscopic cholecystectomy), esophageal surgery (laparoscopic fundoplication), colon surgery (lapraoscopic colectomy), and surgery on the stomach and spleen. One advantage of laparoscopic surgery is that patients recover much more quickly than they do from standard "open surgery" in which a large incision is used. Because the surgeon creates only a few small incisions, rather than one large incision, post-surgery pain is generally reduced.

Review Date: 08/11/2005
Reviewed By: A.D.A.M. Editorial and Joseph P. Hart, M.D., Marco Polo Traveling Fellow c/o Department of Vascular Surgery, A. Z. St. Blasius Hospital (Belgium). Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.