Patients needing surgery at Good Hope Hospital are to benefit from two, state-of-the-art laparoscopic theatres, which are the first of their kind in the West Midlands.

The £5.5m investment, which is to be officially opened by Sir Doug Ellis OBE on 19 April, will mean around 2,400 gynaecology and gastro-intestinal patients each year will now be offered laparoscopic surgery, also known as minimally invasive surgery. This is where surgical procedures are carried out with the assistance of a high definition video camera. The camera transmits an image of the organs inside the abdomen onto a high definition television monitor, so the surgeon is able to see directly into the patient without the need for a traditional large incision.

Minimally invasive procedures benefit patients as they experience less discomfort after their operation, they have smaller scars, less pain relief is needed and there will often be a shorter stay in hospital required. There may also be less internal scarring when the procedures are performed in a minimally invasive fashion compared to standard open surgery.

One of the new theatres, theatre 7, will be a dedicated gynaecology theatre, being serviced from a dedicated single sex ward. This will mean the theatre is multi-functional as it can used for endoscopic as well as laparoscopic surgery. Theatre 8 will be dedicated to gastro-intestinal surgery enabling the service to further advance and develop its treatment techniques.