Help bringing Laparoscopic Surgery to the World
We are an organization from Switzerland with the goal to teach Laparoscopic Surgery and other surgical skills worldwide. Our focus is currently on the Solomon Islands.
We are independent and have no affiliation with any other company, business, or government.
Laparoscopic Surgery is also known as keyhole surgery. It is a technique that uses small incisions to perform surgeries inside the abdominal cavity using a camera (Laparoscope) and a video monitor.
To perform the actual surgery, thin surgical instruments are inserted through other small incisions.
Minimal bleeding during procedures leads to better patient outcomes
Smaller incisions result in significantly reduced postoperative pain
Patients recover much quicker and can return to normal activities sooner
Reduced risk of hernia development through the abdominal wall
Lower risk of wound infections due to smaller incision sites
Patients can be discharged earlier, freeing up hospital beds
Lower healthcare costs due to shorter stays and fewer complications
Reduced postoperative morbidity and risk of pulmonary embolism
Laparoscopy is a safe procedure with very low complication rates and extensive medical literature has proved the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic surgery.
This is why laparoscopic surgery has become the state of the art in the developed world.
The image shows the percent of total case log represented by laparoscopy in Baltimore, Australia over the years.
(Journal of the Society of Laparoscopic & Robotic Surgeons, 2020)
So far Laparoscopy plays no part in the Solomon Islands. For all emergency and elective cases open approaches are used. The big incisions take a longer time to heal and lead to more postoperative complications and a longer recovery period.
Theatre space and beds in the hospitals are very limited and patients have to wait a long time for urgently needed surgical and other interventions. Every week patients who were booked for elective surgeries have to be sent home again because there is no bed space available.
Laparoscopic surgeries with faster recovery rates and less complications can help to tackle these issues.
We are teaching senior residents and consultants in the general surgery team laparoscopic surgery. As equipment and instruments for easier cases are already present in the National Referral Hospital we started already with laparoscopic procedures.
Since July 2025 we have done more than 10 laparoscopic appendectomies and few other minimal invasive cases. The goal is teaching the local doctors to do these procedures on their own. We have had multiple training sessions with the senior residents.
| Procedure | Open Surgery | Laparoscopy |
|---|---|---|
| Appendectomy | 4-5 days | 1-2 days |
| Cholecystectomy | 5-7 days | 2-3 days |
| Hernia repair | 2-3 days | 0-2 days |
| Emergency operations for small intestines | 7-9 days | 2-4 days |
In order to continue and expand our program we need:
Organizations and institutions willing to support our mission
Financial support to continue our training programs and expand our reach
Help spreading awareness about our work and its impact