Laparoscopy
Northside Hospital is home to many of the country's finest surgeons available in health care today. Many of the surgeons on staff at Northside are nationally and internationally recognized for their expertise in minimally invasive techniques and were pioneers in laparoscopic technique that lead the way to robotically assisted laparoscopic surgery. Adapting minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery for gynecologic procedures since 1972, Northside has playing a primary role in educating surgeons throughout the region in this specialty.
Laparoscopy is described as a group of operations performed with the aid of a camera placed in the abdomen.
The laparoscope was first combined with a video camera in the 1980s, an accomplishment that helped free up the surgeons' hands, so they could better work with their instruments. The laparoscope also allows doctors to perform minor surgery with just a small cut in the abdomen. This technique is known as laparoscopic-assisted surgery a minimally invasive procedure.
Initially, laparoscopy was used for procedures such as tubal ligation, a sterilization operation also known as tying the tubes.
The first laparoscopic gallbladder removal was performed in 1985 in France. Soon, the minimally invasive technique was being used to remove the appendix. Today, exploratory laparoscopy is used after abdominal injury, and in cases of abdominal or pelvic illness. Minimally invasive weight-reducing procedures such as gastric bypass and vertical banding gastroplasty (VBG) are preformed laparoscopically. Surgeons may start large operations on the liver or pancreas with laparoscopy to check for additional tumors.
Today, laparoscopic or endoscopic techniques are being utilized for any surgical specialty including gynecologic, general, neurosurgery, orthopedic and cardiac surgeries.