What are laparoscopy and thoracoscopy?
Laparoscopy involves the placement of a very small camera into the abdominal cavity (usually through the belly button) so that doctors can see inside the patient’s body. Special instruments are passed through two or more separate openings in the belly wall. Doctors then operate by watching a television screen that projects what the camera sees inside the body. They can see the patient’s organs and the surgical instruments perfectly, without having to make large incisions. Thoracoscopy is when the same technique is used through a small incision in the patient’s chest.
