MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia:Laparoscopic surgery

Medical Encyclopedia

Laparoscopic surgery - series: Aftercare

Laparoscopic surgery - series
Illustrations:

Incision

Procedure, part 1

Procedure, part 2

Aftercare

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.

Update Date: 7/25/2007

Updated by: Robert A. Cowles, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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