Laparoscopy, also known as keyhole surgery or minimally invasive surgery, is a surgical procedure that allows a surgeon to access the inside of the abdomen or pelvis without making large incisions in the skin. Instead, the surgeon uses an instrument called a laparoscope, which is a small tube that has a light source and a camera, to relay images of the inside of the abdomen or pelvis to a television monitor. The advantages of laparoscopy over traditional open surgery include reduced pain due to smaller incisions, reduced hemorrhaging, and shorter recovery time. Laparoscopy can be used to help diagnose a wide range of conditions that develop inside the abdomen or pelvis, and it can also be used to carry out surgical procedures, such as removing a damaged or diseased organ, or removing a tissue sample for further testing (biopsy) . Laparoscopy is most commonly used in gynecology, gastroenterology, and urology. During laparoscopy, the surgeon makes several small cuts, usually no more than a half-inch long, and inserts a tube through each opening, and the camera and surgical instruments go through those. Laparoscopy is generally done while the patient is asleep under general anesthesia.