The basic instrument that allows this is the endoscope - a narrow telescope through which is passed miniature instruments. When a potential space in the body such as the abdomen, pelvis, or retroperitoneum is expanded with gas and the endoscope is placed into the gas-filled space to look at the outer surface of organs, the procedure is called laparoscopy.
Some common procedures appear almost to be a combination of the two techniques.
For example, large stones in the kidney are sometimes best treated by placing a tube through the skin, through the outer surface of the kidney, and then into the urine-containing part of the kidney where the stones are located. This is called percutaneous nephrolithotomy. To see diagrams of the incisions that might be required for these different kinds of procedures, click here . Sometimes, however, these problems do require open operations. Deciding whether to use an open operation, an endourologic operation, or ESWL is often a complex task and requires the expertise of a urologist.