Laparoscopy is the medical procedure developed in recent years which allows physicians to investigate the pelvic and abdominal organs, the intestines, the appendix and even the liver. This procedure is done by inserting a small tube-like instrument similar to a telescope through an incision made in the belly button or a small cut in the skin while the patient is under general anesthesia. Laparoscopy can have some side effects like skin infection near the incision area, the possibility of damaging internal body structures such as the bladder, bowel, ureter and blood vessels or further complications may appear because of the anesthesia.In most cases this procedure don’t present the effects mentioned above so patients are usually discharged in the same day of the surgery. Laparoscopy is used by the medical researchers to diagnose or just to observe a certain problem but it can also have an operative function: doctors can correct the abnormalities discovered during this preventive operation. This procedure can be used in diagnosing a prostate cancer, though the familiar tests used for the early detection of the tumor are the screening tests and the prostate biopsy; it can also be used in treating the cancer and the success rate between laparoscopy and prostatectomy is rather similar, the main difference being that the first operation is minimally invasive and assisted by a robot. If the surgeon has more experience with this kind of procedure then it is a certain fact that the stay in the hospital will be shorter than expected.

Robotic operations such as laparoscopy have their disadvantages because, in the case of the prostate cancer, doctors need to feel the cancer with their own hands for a better medical intervention. If you have doubts about this procedure there are some other treatment options: prostatectomy, mentioned above, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, cryotherapy and hormone therapy; you should be aware about the fact that each treatment has its side effects. The surgical removal of the prostate may cause some local bleeding, almost one per cent among men with ages between sixty five and sixty nine will die because of the operation, incontinence in about four point five per cent of the cases or impotence in about thirty five point five per cent cases.

The radiation therapy is the second most popular form of conventional treatment and its side effect are impotence or incontinence. The androgen deprivation therapy has some serious side effects like impotence, breast enlargement and sometimes can cause cardiovascular diseases and in the worst case scenario, leading to death. Cryotherapy is a rather new medical treatment procedure and because of that its side effects are still under study. It may cause fistulas that leak urine, the blockage of the urethra, infections, and sometimes the freezing liquid inserted in the gland with the purpose of killing the cancerous cells will give ineffective results. As you can see, almost all conventional treatment procedures have some side effects. It is important to stay informed about what new operations are experimented and discovered and what is the best procedure in your case. The complications encountered when laparoscopy is done should not scare you, but if you are doubtful about the effectiveness of this procedure then you must ask the doctor for an advice.