Laparoscopic procedures during pregnancy and the risks of anesthesia: What does an obstetrician need to know?

Background: Nonobstetric surgery may be necessary during any stage of gestation. Methods: The purpose of this article is to review the current recommendations (using Medline search for the relevant publications) for the perioperative anesthetic management of pregnant women undergoing laparoscopy for indications unrelated to pregnancy. Results: The current estimates of the incidence of nonobstetric surgery in pregnancy range from 1% to 2%. Laparoscopy is the most common surgical procedure performed in the first trimester of pregnancy, whereas appendectomy is the most common procedure performed during the remainder of pregnancy. Conclusions: In the past pregnancy was considered as an absolute contraindication to laparoscopy. However, recent years have brought an extensive experience with this technique during gestation. © 2007 Springer-Verlag.