Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery

Surgery is a big word. Even when it's keyhole surgery, a few small cuts and home the same day, it doesn't feel small when it's happening to you.

Laparoscopic surgery treats conditions inside the pelvis through incisions about a centimetre wide, using a camera and fine instruments. For most people that means less pain, less scarring and a quicker return to ordinary life.

Dr Joseph Sgroi and Dr Marcus Davenport both perform advanced minimally invasive gynaecological surgery, in hospital, with time set aside beforehand so you understand why.

What keyhole surgery actually involves

In a laparoscopy, a narrow camera is passed through a small incision near the navel and the abdomen is gently filled with gas so there is room to see and work. Two or three further incisions, each around five to ten millimetres, allow fine instruments through. The camera magnifies the pelvis on a screen, which means the surgeon is often seeing more detail than an open operation would allow, not less.

Smaller incisions matter for reasons beyond appearance. Less tissue is cut, so there is usually less post-operative pain, a lower risk of wound infection, less time in hospital and a faster return to work and exercise.

What is commonly treated this way

• Excision of endometriosis, including deeper disease
• Removal of ovarian cysts while preserving healthy ovarian tissue
• Removal of fibroids, where their size and position allow
• Division of adhesions from previous surgery or infection
• Hysterectomy, with or without removal of the tubes
• Tubal surgery, including management of damaged tubes before IVF
• Investigation of pelvic pain or unexplained infertility

Hysteroscopy is a related procedure with no incision at all. A fine telescope passes through the cervix to look directly inside the uterine cavity, and can treat polyps, some fibroids, scar tissue, a uterine septum, or heavy bleeding. It is frequently done at the same sitting as a laparoscopy.

Deciding whether to operate

Surgery is one option among several, and it shouldn't be the first thing offered. Before recommending an operation we want to know what has already been tried, what your symptoms are actually costing you, whether you are hoping to conceive now or later, and whether medical or physiotherapy management still has room to work.

Some conditions do need surgery, and delaying it has its own costs. Others settle with less. We'll tell you honestly which category we think you're in, what the operation can realistically change, and what it can't. Dr Davenport is highly skilled in advanced minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, and both surgeons operate at their accredited hospitals. Surgery happens in hospital, not at the Collingwood rooms.

Consent, the day itself, and recovery

Consent is a conversation, not a form. You should leave the pre-operative appointment knowing the intended procedure, the realistic benefit, the specific risks including the small chance of needing a larger incision, what happens if we find something unexpected, and what the alternatives are. Our team will talk you through costs before anything is booked.

Many laparoscopies are day procedures. A hysterectomy or more complex excision usually means a night or two in hospital. Recovery varies, but as a rough guide:

• Shoulder-tip discomfort from the gas is common and settles within a few days
• Driving generally resumes once you can brake hard without hesitating, often around one to two weeks
• Desk work after a straightforward laparoscopy is often possible within one to two weeks; physical work takes longer
• After hysterectomy, expect four to six weeks before feeling like yourself
• Gentle walking starts immediately; heavy lifting and high-impact exercise wait around six weeks

You'll have a follow-up appointment to go through the findings, any pathology results, and what happens next.