Laparoscopic surgery is a term that relates to the trained surgeon’s ability to operate through small incisions using special instruments that have cameras and cutting tools in the end. Instead of visualizing the area through an open incision, the trained surgeon views the area on a TV screen.

Typically, about three incisions less than 1/2 inch long are used. Carbon dioxide gas is used to bloat the stomach slightly which creates a larger working space within the abdomen. The same approach is used elsewhere in the body.  A tiny camera in the end of the laparoscope transmits an image to a TV screen near the operating table. Laparoscopic instruments are then inserted into additional incisions to retract, cut, suture, and staple.

The key benefit of laparoscopic surgery is that it decreases the size of incisions used by surgeons resulting in less pain and scarring, a shortened hospital stay and a faster and a recovery that is much less painful as less muscle and ligament tissue has been disrupted. Laparoscopic surgery is also sometimes referred to as Keyhole Surgery, Band-Aid Surgery or Minimally Invasive Surgery.

Laparoscopic surgeries offered in Anchorage, Alaska: