[Laparoscopy as a clinical diagnostic method at a hospital center in Peru]

Laparoscopy is an invasive endoscopic procedure, that permits the vision of the abdominal cavity, through a little hole in the abdominal wall. This method permits a almost complete vision of abnormalities. It also helps to define diagnosis and classify or visualize the progress of some diseases. In this study done in 141 patients with liver diseases detected by laparoscopy and biopsy in the Arzobispo Loayza General Hospital in Lima, Perú, we verified the diagnostic efficacy of laparoscopy in hepato-biliary diseases like cirrhosis and hepatocarcinoma etc., and also to establish the etiology of peritoneal diseases. Emphasis is made in the importance of biopsies taken under visual control.