ACCES now offers Laparoscopic Surgery

What is laparoscopy?

Laparoscopy is a minimally invasive form of surgery that uses a light source, a camera, and narrow istruments to visualize organs and perform surgical procedures using only small incisions into the abdominal or thoracic cavity. The laparoscope works when the body cavity is distended with carbon dioxide, and the bright light source and camera are inserted into the abdomen through very small incisions. The internal organs are viewed on a screen monitor. surgical instruments are passed through additional small abdominal incisions allowing abdominal examination and surgery with minimal trauma to the patient.

Most common types of procedures:

  • Exploratory Surgery: The most common procedure done laparoscopally is exploratory surgery. Exploratory surgery is used to evaluate the internal organs and look for masses, diseased organs or other abnormalities. 
  • Organ or Mass Biopsy:  A biopsy is a procedure used to obtain pieces of tissue to evaluate for disease.  Laparoscopy can be used to aid in the biopsy of almost any abdominal organ.

Other abdominal procedures include: examination of draining tracks and deep wounds, bladder surgery, gastropexy (tacking of the stomach in “bloat-prone breeds”), gall bladder removal, and intestinal foreign body removal.

The equipment can also be used to explore the chest cavity and perform various chest surgeries

Advantages

  • Laparoscopy is not as traumatic as traditional open-abdomen surgeries
  • Faster surgical recovery compared to traditional open abdomen surgeries
  • Because recovery is faster, there is less hospital time for the pet
  • Less painful compared to traditional open-abdomen surgeries
  • Biopsies of organs and masses can be visualized and monitored for bleeding and other complications

 

 

 

 

 

Disadvantages

  • Although visualization with the laparoscope is very good, small masses or abnormalities may be missed if they are in a difficult area to visualize with the camera.
In general, the advantages of laparoscopy far outweigh the disadvantages.

 

 

If you have questions about laparoscopy, please contact us at 206-364-1660