Use of Laparoscopy for Surgical Problems during Pregnancy

During their pregnancy Approximately 1 in 500 to 1 in 635 women will require non-obstetrical abdominal surgery. Acute appendicitis, cholecystitis, and intestinal obstruction are the most common non-obstetrical surgical emergencies complicating pregnancy. Other conditions that may require surgery during pregnancy include ovarian cysts, masses or torsion, symptomatic cholelithiasis, adrenal tumors, splenic disorders, symptomatic hernias, complications of inflammatory bowel diseases, and abdominal pain of unknown etiology. Using laparoscopic techniques in the non-pregnant patient with good outcomes all of these diseases are routinely treated.