Surgery.

Surgical procedures are usually classified by the type of procedure (such as laparotomy or laparoscopy), the urgency (for example, emergency or elective), the body area involved, any special instrumentation used (such as microsurgery or laser surgery), and degree of invasiveness. Superficial surgery takes place near the surface of the skin (such as removal of a wart) and minimally invasive surgery is accomplished through small skin incisions; in invasive surgery, the physician makes incisions and works with instruments or devices inside the body. A common type of minimally invasive surgery is laparoscopy, originally used by gynecologists to view pelvic structures and perform simple procedures such as cauterizing the Fallopian tubes for sterilization. Later, gynecologists used laparoscopy for more complex procedures such as hysterectomies, and the procedures began to be used by physicians in other specialties. For example, the laparoscope is used by urologists to perform nephrectomies (kidney removals) and by general surgeons to perform cholecystectomies (gallbladder removals).