MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY (Laparoscopy)

Conditions that might be diagnosed using laparoscopy include:

• Endometriosis
• Uterine fibroids
• Ovarian cysts or tumors
• Ectopic pregnancy
• Pelvic abscess, or pus
• Pelvic adhesions, or painful scar tissue
• Infertility
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Reproductive cancers

Some types of laparoscopic treatment include:

• Hysterectomy, or removal of the uterus
• Removal of the ovaries
• Removal of ovarian cysts
• Removal of fibroids
• Blocking blood flow to fibroids
• Endometrial tissue ablation, which is a treatment for endometriosis
• Adhesion removal
• Reversal of a contraceptive surgery called tubal ligation
• Burch procedure for incontinence
• Vault suspension to treat a prolapsed uterus

A hysterectomy is an operation to remove the uterus. This surgery may be done for different reasons, including:

• Uterine fibroids that cause pain, bleeding, or other problems
• Uterine prolapse, which is a sliding of the uterus from its normal position into the vaginal canal
• Cancer of the uterus, cervix, or ovaries
• Endometriosis
• Abnormal vaginal bleeding
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Adenomyosis, or a thickening of the uterus

Laparoscopy can be done for infertility

The surgeon will look for possible causes of infertility. These could be:

• Abnormalities of the uterus and ovaries
• Blocked fallopian tubes
• Scar tissue
• Fibroid tumors
• Endometriosis (which can only be confirmed via laparoscopy).

The surgeon may decide to correct problems detected. This becomes an operative laparoscopy, and small surgical instruments are manipulated through the laparoscope or another small incision point. The surgeon can remove scar tissue, fibroids or endometrial tissue that has incorrectly implanted outside the uterus. The surgeon cuts tissue or removes it with a laser beam or electric current (electrocautery).