What are laparoscopes and how are they used?
Laparoscopy helps to visualize all abdominal organs without making major incisions and performing surgery on the relevant areas without potentially damaging other parts of the body.
Smaller incisions and minimally invasive surgery help reduce bleeding and pain, resulting in faster recovery time, shorter hospital stays, and less chance of infection.
Laparoscopes are nothing more than rigid endoscopes with a telescoping rod-lens system, usually attached to a video camera—either single-chip or triple-chip. Digital laparoscopes have a tiny digital camera attached to the end of the laparoscope, replacing the rod lens system - but this is less popular.
To illuminate the surgical field so that the camera can capture a clear image, a light source is used. The fiber optic cable system connects from the light source and is inserted through an incision made with a 5mm or 10mm cannula/trocar. The abdomen is usually filled with carbon dioxide gas. This expands the viewing and manipulation space within the abdomen by stretching and elevating the abdominal wall away from the internal organs. CO2 is commonly used because the body is so familiar with it that it can be taken up by tissues and excreted through the respiratory system as usual. It is also non-flammable, an important property since many electronic devices are commonly used in operating rooms.
