Laparoscopy, << `lap` uh ROS kuh pee, >> is a surgical technique used to examine organs and to detect and treat certain diseases within the abdomen. Doctors use an instrument called a laparoscope to perform this technique. The laparoscope is a metal tube with lenses, an illumination system, and a channel for surgical instruments. It is inserted into the abdomen through a small opening made in the abdominal wall. The doctor can observe the liver, gallbladder, spleen, and, in a woman, the reproductive organs. Laparoscopy allows doctors to detect cirrhosis or cancer of the liver, and disorders of other abdominal organs and the lining of the abdominal cavity.
Surgeons can treat certain diseases by passing special instruments through the laparoscope and moving them in the abdomen. For example, doctors can use this technique to remove the gallbladder (see Gallbladder ). Surgeons also use the laparoscope to perform laparoscopic sterilization, an operation that prevents pregnancy in women. This procedure cuts or destroys a portion of the woman’s fallopian tubes or blocks the tubes.
