Laparoscopy Information Sheet

Your doctor has recommended laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery to treat your condition. The operation will require a general anaesthetic so that you are asleep and will feel no pain. Once asleep you are cleaned with antiseptic including inside your vagina where we use a device to move your uterus to aid surgery. After that 2 to 4 small incisions are made in the skin in your abdomen so that instruments can be used to perform your surgery. Most gynaecological operations can be performed using laparoscopic techniques.

What to expect with laparoscopic surgery:

Hospital Stay - Minor cases are day surgery but longer procedures such as hysterectomy and excision of endometriosis may require 1 - 3 days in hospital.

Post operative pain - Mild abdominal pain and shoulder tip pain are quite common immediately after laparoscopy. Most patients will require only oral pain medications upon leaving theatre and are walking around within a day of the operation.

Return to work - even after hysterectomy patients can return to non-strenuous employment within two to three weeks of surgery.

Return to normal activity - Activities such as driving and sport may be resumed when you feel comfortable. As a guide it is usually safe to start these activities two to three weeks after surgery. You should not drive a car within 24 hours of a general anaesthetic. Sex should be avoided until one week after any vaginal bleeding has stopped. Please ask your specialist about any restrictions with your particular operation.

All surgery involves risks. The risk of a particular complication may vary depending on the complexity of the surgery or the severity of your condition.

There is around a 1 per 1000 chance with diagnostic laparoscopy and an 8 per 1000 chance with operative laparoscopy of a major complication that may require an abdominal operation to treat the problem. In rare cases this may be life threatening

These include:

• Injury to internal organs including bowel, ureter or bladder
• Haemorrhage requiring a blood transfusion
• Gas embolism (very rare). CO₂ gas used to distend the abdomen to allow visualisation of the internal organs may pass into the blood stream and up to the lungs making breathing difficult.

Post-operative problems may include:

• Constipation
• Wound, pelvic or bladder infection
• Pelvic or wound haematoma (blood clot)
• Deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in the legs that can break off and travel to the lungs making breathing difficult)
• Abnormal scar formation (keloid)

During any operation there is a small chance that the surgeon may need to convert to open surgery to safely complete the procedure.

The above list is not exhaustive and does not include all possible risks. If you have any further concerns please feel free to ask your specialist.

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