Laparoscopic surgery, also called minimally invasive surgery (MIS), or keyhole surgery is a modern surgical technique in which operations are performed far from their location through small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) elsewhere in the body. Many conditions can contribute to infertility including fibroids, endometriosis, pelvic adhesions (scar tissue in the pelvis) and uterine anomalies such as a uterine septum and adhesions (scar tissue inside the uterus – Asherman’s syndrome). They can be treated by fertility enhancing laparoscopic surgeries.
There are a number of advantages to the patient with laparoscopic surgery versus an open procedure. These include:
- Reduced bleeding, which reduces the chance of blood transfusion.
- Smaller incision, which reduces pain and shortens recovery time, as well as resulting in less post-operative scarring.
Although procedure times are usually slightly longer, hospital stay is less, and often with a same day discharge which leads to a faster return to everyday living.
Reduced exposure of internal organs to possible external contaminants thereby reduced risk of acquiring infections.
Fertility enhancing laparoscopic surgeries include:
- Laparoscopic myomectomy for the removal of large fibroids or multiple fibroids
- Laparoscopic treatment of advanced stage endometriosis
- Laparoscopic ovarian drilling and chromopertubation
- Laparoscopic tubal reanastomosis (tubal ligation reversal)
- Laparoscopic removal of large benign ovarian masses or cysts
- Diagnostic laparoscopy and chromopertubation
Usually these procedures are combined with hysteroscopy to assess the uterine cavity better.
