Overview
A laparoscopy for chronic pelvic pain offers people many advantages over traditional surgery. With laparoscopic surgery, people usually have shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery times because it is a simpler, less invasive procedure.
Preparing for a Laparoscopy
Laparoscopy for chronic pelvic pain is usually performed on an outpatient basis, meaning that you go home the day of your surgery.
For your particular situation, you will be given specific instructions as to where and when to arrive at the medical facility, how to prepare for your laparoscopy, and what to expect the day of and the days following the laparoscopy.
The Laparoscopy Surgery
As part of a laparoscopy for chronic pelvic pain, a small incision, or cut, will be made in or just below your belly button. A tube, called a trocar, will be inserted into your abdomen (stomach). The laparoscope will then be inserted. Through this, your medical provider will view the inside of your abdomen on a video screen. The laparoscope can also take pictures of the laparoscopy.
If your medical provider finds something abnormal during the examination, the laparoscopic surgery will then continue. Occasionally, two or three small incisions may need to be made just below the navel for other instruments. The specific method used to remove the problem will be based on what is found, its size, and location.
After Laparoscopy for Chronic Pelvic Pain
When you leave the hospital after a laparoscopy, you will get special instructions. Some instructions will be about how to take care of your body and your female organs. Some instructions will be for medicines you are taking and what kinds of exercise and actions you can do. Be sure to ask questions or have the instructions repeated if they don’t make sense.
Expected Results
The specific results of laparoscopy for chronic pelvic pain will depend upon what happens during the procedure and what is found. You can expect your medical provider to have gained valuable information about your particular internal organs, including your pelvis, ovaries, and fallopian tubes, after the laparoscopy.
Abnormalities related to chronic pelvic pain are found in an average of 70 to 80 out of 100 laparoscopies, and this is usually if the pain has been in the same location for at least six months.