Examination of the contents of the peritoneum with a laparoscope passed through the abdominal wall. Typically in laparoscopy, the abdomen is first inflated with carbon dioxide, and the laparosocpe passed through a small incision in the abdominal wall
Laparoscopic bowel graspers, otherwise known as bowel forceps, are a form of grasping instrument designed to safely manipulate delicate abdominal tissue during laparoscopic procedures. One of their main functions is to facilitate adequate access to the surgical site by holding bowel tissue clear of the operating field.
Needle drivers, or needle holders, are used to grasp and manipulate needles to enable free-hand suturing of wounds or surgical incisions within the body during laparoscopic procedures. Surgical needle drivers have been in widespread use for little over a century. Prior to this, needles were large enough to be manipulated by hand, and any instruments that were developed to assist with suturing often had more in common with the tools of tailors, sail-makers or leatherworkers than with the surgical instruments of today.
Analog medical cameras have been available since the mid-1970s, but were initially very heavy and could not be disinfected, limiting their usefulness in surgical applications. A major breakthrough occurred in 1982, when the first solid-state medical camera was introduced. Based around a silicon chip called a charge-coupled device (CCD), these digital cameras were lightweight, sterilisable, and offered improved color stability. CCDs are now commonly found in many consumer products including digital cameras and webcams. They consist of a silicon chip covered in image sensors, known as pixels, which convert incoming light energy from a visual scene into a digital signal that can be stored, processed or transmitted with greater efficiency and reliability than its analog equivalent.
Today, a typical laparoscopy system consists of four main components: One or more digital cameras, a light source, a monitor and the scope itself.
Laparoscopic surgery uses long-pencil like instruments that fit through small cuts in the abdominal wall instead of large incisions required during open operations.
Laparoscopic surgery is a widely accepted surgical technique that uses small incisions and long pencil-like instruments to perform operations with a camera. As the incisions are much smaller than their open counterparts, recovery is faster and post-operative pain is typically less. Procedures such as hernia repairs, gastric bypass, bowel resection, and organ removal are now routinely carried out laparoscopically.
