What does Laparoscopic Surgery Involve?
Laparoscopic surgery is a technique used in the treatment of bladder cancer before undertaking radical (or, on rare occasions, partial) cystectomy. The operation involves removing the bladder. Laparoscopic surgery is tending to replace open surgery in radical treatment of bladder cancer.
The procedure is performed when a tumour is invasive, i.e., more aggressive.
The main aim is the full removal of the tumour together with the whole organ (or part of it in the rare case of partial cystectomy). It is also necessary to remove the other adjacent organs.
What is the Laparoscopic Surgery Procedure?
Laparoscopic surgery is performed under general anaesthetic and consists of making small incisions (a few millimetres) in the patient’s abdominal wall through which instruments are inserted like a laparoscope, which allows the surgeon to perform the operation via a video monitor.
The technique is used to perform a cystectomy, i.e., the removal of the bladder.
What is laparoscopic bladder surgery?
This technique allows radical (or possibly partial) cystectomy to be performed in bladder cancer treatment.
Radical cystectomy implies the total removal of the bladder and other adjacent organs (such as the prostate and seminal vesicles in men and the uterus, ovaries and part of the vaginal wall in women).
Rarely indicated, partial cystectomy only implies removal of part of the bladder.
When is laparoscopic surgery recommended?
This surgical treatment is recommended for invasive vesical tumours (i.e., that invade the bladder wall muscle layer). As these tumours are aggressive, it is necessary to remove some of the organs adjacent to the bladder.
What other organs are removed besides the bladder?
If a radical cystectomy is performed, in addition to the bladder, the prostate and seminal vesicles are removed in men. In women, the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes and part of the vaginal wall are also removed.