[Laparoscopic surgery in urology]

At the present time minimally invasive surgery is present in all the standards of quality of a surgical service. Laparoscopic surgery, the basis of this minimally invasive surgery, is revolutionizing the teaching and handling of many surgical pathologies. In the urological sphere, although with a delay of 5 years with respect to neighbouring countries, laparoscopy has become established as a prevalent technique in many processes of the urinary-genital apparatus. At present it is the chosen technique for the surgical treatment of the suprarenal, and it is rapidly becoming established in different pathologies such as renal tumours, prostate tumours, staging in neoplastic diseases of the testicles, benign surgical pathology and in reconstructive surgery. Since 1995, the Urology Service at the Hospital de Navarra has been a pioneer in the employment of this type of technique, and, since 1998, it has been a pioneer of so-called advanced laparoscopic surgery, in which it is a national reference point in some of the procedures, such as laparoscopic adrenalectomy. At present, all of the laparoscopic procedures are incorporated in the service, with a learning curve that has been surpassed. All of this has made it possible to improve patient care, to obtain a reduction in postoperative pain and in length of hospital stay, and a rapid return to labour activity with oncological results that can be equivalent on those of open surgery.