Every planned MACS or open surgery for abdominal or thoracic cancers must start with a diagnostic scopy to assess the feasibility and benefit of the major surgical procedure that is planned. Diagnostic scopy works as an extension of imaging modalities that are used for staging and thus can be called Staging Laparoscopy. As the organs are directly visualized, the sensitivity and specificity are much higher. Added to this the procedure related morbidity and complications of staging laparoscopy are negligible compared to the benefits that it offers. On many occasions it has been noticed that the cost of therapy is significantly reduced (by 55%) when staging Laparoscopy was performed instead of exploratory laparotomy.
The utility of diagnostic laparoscopy can be classified below. This site will only discuss staging scopy for cancers.
Staging Scopy for cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Gastric cancer
- Pancreatic and periampullary cancers
- Liver cancer
- Biliary tract cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Lymphomas
Diagnostic laparoscopy for acute conditions
Diagnostic laparoscopy for chronic conditions
- Chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis
- Liver disease (including cirrhosis)
- Infertility
- Cryptorchidism
- Other
Miscellaneous
(*Most of the matter under diagnostic laparoscopy is modified from ‘Diagnostic Laparoscopy Guidelines’ by SAGES group, 2007)