Laparoscopy

A wide variety of advanced laparoscopic surgical procedures are performed by Evansville Surgical surgeons, including:

• Adrenalectomy
• Appendectomy
• Cholecystectomy
• Colon Resection
• Diagnostic Procedures
• Hiatal Hernia Repair
• Nissen Fundoplication
• Splenectomy
• Ventral Hernia Repair

What is Laparoscopic Surgery?

Back in the mid 1980's, most surgical operations involving the abdomen were performed as a traditional "open" procedure, meaning that large incisions were made by the doctor to perform the surgery. But that changed when surgeons began using the Laparoscope for removal of the gallbladder. This procedure became known as Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. Laparoscopic removal of the gallbladder was able to provide patients with less post-operative pain and a quicker recovery period.

Soon, other "minimally invasive" procedures began to appear, such as Laparoscopic Herniorrhaphy and Laparoscopic Bowel Resections. Today the concept of "minimally invasive" or "minimal access" surgery has penetrated most surgical disorders.

The advantage of this technology is that procedures which previously required weeks or months of post-operative recovery can now be performed on an outpatient or on a short stay basis. Patients return to full function weeks faster than before.

Sometimes known as "keyhole" or "pinhole" surgery, laparoscopy typically entails three to five incisions of 5 to 10 millimeters - just large enough to admit the passage of the surgeons light, a tiny video camera, and precision-crafted surgical instruments.

With today's state-of-the-art technology, laparoscopic surgery allows surgeons magnification of the procedure area up to 20 times actual size, permitting surgeons to see anatomical structures in exquisite detail.