Laparoscopic surgery, also called keyhole surgery (when natural body openings are not used), bandaid surgery, or minimally invasive surgery (MIS), is a surgical technique. Medically, laparoscopic surgery refers only to operations within the abdomen or pelvic cavity. Laparoscopic surgery belongs to the field of endoscopy.

Cholecystectomy as seen through a laparoscope

A laparoscope contains a fibre optic system to illuminate the operative site, a lens system to view the operative site that is usually connected to a video camera (videoscopic procedures using a laparoscope or endoscope) and a channel to allow access for intervention using long, thin instruments. Through small incisions a surgeon can introduce additonal instruments through side ports. Rather than a 20 cm cut as in traditional cholecystectomy, 2 or 5 cuts of 5-15 mm will be sufficient to perform a laparoscopic removal of a gall bladder. The abdomen is usually insufflated with carbon dioxide gas to create a working and viewing space.

This approach hopefully minimises operative blood loss and post-operative pain, and speeds up recovery times. However the restricted vision, difficult handling of the instruments (hand-eye coordination), lack of tactile perception and the limited working area can increase the possibility of damage to surrounding organs and vessels, either accidentally or through the difficulty of procedures.

The first transatlantic surgery ever performed was a laparoscopic gall bladder removal.