laparoscopy
Meaning of laparoscopy: Trading one long wound for several small ones changes the recovery far more than it changes the operation performed inside.
Definition of laparoscopy
Laparoscopy is examination or surgery of the abdomen carried out through several small incisions instead of one long one. A camera telescope enters through one port and instruments through the others, while carbon dioxide gas inflates the abdomen to create working space. The surgeon operates while watching a monitor rather than looking directly into the wound.
How laparoscopy is built
- lapar/o Combining form · Greek abdomen, abdominal wall
- -scopy Suffix · Greek visual examination with an instrument
A medical term is read from its ending backwards: the suffix first, then the prefix, then the root. See all 223 word parts.
What happens during it?
The procedure is performed under general anesthesia. A first small abdomen incision, often at the navel, admits a port through which carbon dioxide is pumped in. That gas is used because it does not burn, dissolves readily in blood and is breathed out afterward. The inflated abdominal wall lifts away from the organs, creating a dome of working space. A laparoscope goes in first, and the remaining ports are placed under direct vision so nothing beneath them is injured. At the end the gas is let out and the small wounds are closed. Gas that lingers can irritate the underside of the diaphragm, and because that surface shares nerve supply with the shoulder, the ache afterward is often felt in the shoulder tip rather than the abdomen.
How does it compare with open surgery?
| Laparoscopic | Open | |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Several incisions around a centimeter | One incision, often much longer |
| Recovery | Less wound pain, shorter stay, earlier return to activity | Slower on each count |
| Wound problems | Fewer infections and incisional hernias | More, in proportion to wound length |
| The surgeon's view | Magnified, but on a screen and with reduced feel | Direct vision, with hands in the field |
When is open surgery chosen instead?
Dense scar tissue from previous operations can leave no safe plane to enter. Heavy bleeding is faster to control with direct access. Very large masses will not come out through a small opening. Some people tolerate poorly either the raised abdominal pressure or the tilted positioning that laparoscopic surgery requires. A procedure begun through ports and finished open is described as converted, which reflects a judgment made during the operation rather than something going wrong.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
Laparoscopy was performed to evaluate the cause of the patient's chronic abdominal pain.
Good to know
Laparoscopy is generally followed by a shorter recovery than open surgery, though findings during the operation can lead the surgeon to convert to an open approach, which reflects a judgment about safety rather than a complication.
Word origin
Where “laparoscopy” comes from
Formed from Greek lapara, meaning the flank or soft part of the abdomen, and -skopia, from skopein, meaning to look at or examine.