Laparoscopy

Laparoscopy (key-hole surgery) is a camera test into the abdomen done under general anaesthesia. It usually involves 3 or 4 small cuts in the abdomen, of which one of them is usually at the belly button (umbilicus). With one of the cuts, a long camera is inserted into the abdomen to look and the view is projected onto a HD screen. With the other cuts, I will put in surgical instruments in order to perform a thorough assessment of how the internal organs look like.

With this being an operation, I often take the opportunity to perform reasonable surgical treatment at the time so to avoid the need to come back for surgery on another setting. During a laparoscopy I will be able to identify any abnormalities, including if there was endometriosis and cut them out at the same setting.

Laparoscopy is a very common gynaecology operation. Done appropriately, it is a very safe procedure and complications are very rare. The common problems include minor bleeding and the occasional infection at the wound and in the bladder, but these are not serious. The more serious but rare complications that may arise are clots in the legs or lungs (deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE)) and injury to the bladder/bowel/ureter. If there was any unexpected complication, I wil endavour to repair the damage at the time. Very rarely, this may involve converting the surgery into an open surgery.