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A laparoscope is a tiny camera inserted into the body and used to view internal organs and perform minimally invasive surgical procedures.

The laparoscope has been in use in surgical procedures as early as the 1970s. Gynecologists have long been using the laparoscope for surgical procedures such as tubal ligation, tubal pregnancy treatment, and the removal of fibroids and ovaries.

However, the laparoscope has only been recently used for hysterectomies, with the first laparoscopic hysterectomy being performed in 1988 in Pennsylvania.

Laparoscopic hysterectomy is an alternative to abdominal hysterectomy. The gynecologist is able to remove the uterus, cervix, and ovaries through tiny abdominal incisions. These incisions are typically about a quarter of an inch. The laparoscope allows the gynecologist to examine the reproductive organs within the abdomen prior to performing the hysterectomy and determining whether or not the ovaries should be removed as well.  Like in an abdominal hysterectomy, the cervix may be kept when a laparoscopic hysterectomy is performed.