Open or laparoscopic surgery

Bariatric surgery procedures may be open or laparoscopic.

You and your surgeon can discuss the options and decide what's best for your situation.

• Open procedures are conventional surgeries involving an abdominal incision of several inches, "opening" the abdominal cavity for surgery.
• Laparoscopic procedures are performed using six or more small incisions. The laparoscope, a tube with a small video camera attached at the end, is inserted through the abdominal incisions, allowing internal organs to be viewed on a monitor. Guided by what's seen on the monitor, the surgeon performs the operation with instruments placed through the small incisions.

First published: 05/25/2005
Last updated: 10/28/2005

Reviewed by: Jeffrey Baker, MD, surgeon, The Bariatric Center of Unity Hospital; Edmund Chute, MD, The Bariatric Center of Abbott Northwestern Hospital; Crystal Schlosser, MD, The Bariatric Center of Abbott Northwestern Hospital