Laparoscopy is keyhole surgery of the abdomen in which a
camera and instruments are inserted through holes in the skin, into the abdomen
to see the structures within (diagnostic
laparoscopy) and to correct pathology where possible (therapeutic laparoscopy). In patients that have had previous
pathology or surgery to the abdomen, adhesions can develop whereby loops of bowel
can get caught up in scar tissue. If this causes an obstruction of the bowel,
it can be very serious, but often people just have abdominal pain that coexists with adhesions.