Laparoscopy Side Effects and Warnings

Possible Complications

Complications are rare, but no procedure is completely free of risk. If you are planning to have a laparoscopy, your doctor will review a list of possible complications, which may include:

• Infection
• Bleeding
• Damage to blood vessels or organs
• Problems related to anesthesia
• The need for open surgery rather than laparoscopic surgery

Factors that may increase the risk of complications include:

• Heart or lung condition

• Obesity

• Previous abdominal surgery

• Diabetes

Call Your Doctor

After arriving home, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs:

• Signs of infection, including fever and chills
• Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or discharge from the incision site
• Nausea and/or vomiting that you cannot control with the medications you were given after surgery, or which persist for more than two days after discharge from the hospital
• Pain that you cannot control with the medicines you have been given
• Headache, muscle aches, feeling faint or dizzy
• Pain, burning, urgency or frequency of urination, or persistent bleeding in the urine
• Difficulty urinating or having a bowel movement
• Cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain

In case of an emergency, call 911.