Laparoscopy, Thoracoscopy

The laparoscopic standard operations are:

Femal castration, cryptorchid castration, biopsies of the liver, prostate, lymph nodes, tumors and intestinal biopsies as well as prophylactic gastropexy.

For the above, a large variety of telescopes can be used.

In smaller animals the "semiflexible" 2 mm telescope is used for laparoscopy, in big animals the telescopes with an outside diameter of 5 und 10 mm, laparoscopically or in thoracoscopy. Trocars, forceps and other instruments are available to the user in 2 mm to 10 mm diameter.

Advantages of laparoscopy:

Examination of the entire abdominal cavity together with better visualization (magnifcation factor 6 – 8) distinguish this minimally invasive procedure. Further aspects are the reduced patient trauma and shorter convalescence with a better cosmetic result.

Another minimally invasive field of use is thoracoscopy, in particular diagnostics and therapy of the follwing diseases:

Pleura
Mediastinum
Lung
Pericardium
Diaphragm
Vascular anomalies, Ductus thoracicus