Patients tend to recover more quickly after keyhole surgery and have fewer side effects. There is little scarring after keyhole surgery which is a boon to people who are self-conscious. One side effect of ‘open’ surgery - minimised with keyhole surgery - is ‘adhesions’. This is where internal organs stick together and form bands of scar tissue, which can be painful and cause obstruction. Adhesions have been proven to occur less often in adults after keyhole surgery, and the risk of adhesions in children after keyhole surgery is thought to be less as well.

Every anaesthetic carries a risk of complications but this is very small. All anaesthetists are experienced doctors who are trained to deal with any complications. After an anaesthetic, patients sometimes feel sick and vomit, may have a headache, sore throat or feel dizzy. These effects are short-lived. Any surgery carries a small risk of infection or bleeding. After the operation, some patients may complain of shoulder pain. The patient may also feel some crackling under the skin because the carbon dioxide sometimes escapes into the tissue just under the skin. These side effects are usually short-lived and do not require any specialised care.

All operations carried out as keyhole surgery can also be carried out using ‘open’ surgery, that is, with a larger incision.

The patient will be given a universal anaesthetic and will be asleep during the operation. Once the patient is asleep, the surgeon inserts a small metal tube called a cannula into his/her tummy button. A telescope, with a miniature video camera mounted on it, is inserted into this tube to project a very high quality video image onto a television screen. The abdomen is then inflated with carbon dioxide to create space in which the surgeon can operate. The operation is performed by inserting specialised instruments which are passed through small hollow tubes which are inserted through separate very small incisions. There may be two or more small incisions required to perform the operation. Once the operation is over, the surgeon will stitch up the inside of the holes and the patient will be taken to the recovery room to wake up from the anaesthetic.