the abdominal cavity, forcing surgeons to transition
from a laparoscopic procedure to a more traditional
procedure. Damage to blood vessels is the most com-
mon risk in laparoscopic surgery.
Patient Recovery Patients who receive laparo-
scopic surgery are generally able to return home on
the same day as the procedure. They can experience
some pain, both from the actual incisions and ma-
nipulation of internal organs as well as from the car-
bon dioxide remaining in the abdominal cavity.
Both sources of pain dissipate after a few days.
Patients may also experience difficulty walking
and transitioning from a supine to upright position
after the surgery. This also eases after a few days. Full
recovery from the procedure can be expected
within two to three weeks.
Impact Now a common surgical technique, lapa-
roscopy has changed the field of surgery for both
surgeons and patients. Surgeons are able to perform
surgeries more quickly and with less risk. Patients ex-
perience less pain and recover faster; since laparos-
copy is typically an outpatient surgery, this medical
development has made many procedures routine
and allowed patients to feel more comfortable when
faced with the prospect of surgery.
Subsequent Events In 2007, surgeons at Drexel
University used a newly developed form of laparo-
scopic surgery to remove a patient’s gallbladder.
This method used only one incision, rather than the
multiple incisions typically needed. Referred to as
single port access surgery, this method is accom-
plished through an incision in the naval with high-
dexterity surgical implements, resulting in a lack of
scarring on the torso. Studies indicate that this
method may also result in less pain than more tradi-
tional laparoscopic surgeries and reduce recovery
time even more.
Further Reading
Adler, Robert E.Medical Firsts: From Hippocrates to the
Human Genome. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley &
Sons, 2004. Offers a look at the genesis of laparos-
copy in the gynecological field.
Kennedy, Michael.A Brief Histor y of Disease, Science,
and Medicine: From the Ice Age to the Genome Project.
Cranston, R.I.: The Writers’ Collective, 2004. Like
Porter’s history, Kennedy’s book offers an over-
view of medical history but adds more detail to de-
veloping technologies.
Porter, Roy.Blood and Guts: A Short Histor y of Medicine.
New York: W. W. Norton, 2004. Porter’s short his-
tory offers an overview of medical history, includ-
ing a section devoted to evolving surgical technol-
ogy that addresses laparoscopic surgery.
Ruggieri, Paul.The Surger y Handbook. Omaha, Nebr.:
Addicus Books, 1999. Designed for patients ap-
proaching surgery, Ruggieri’s book offers an
overview of different types of surgery and the
benefits and drawbacks of each procedure.
Singer, Sanford S. “Laparoscopy.” InMagill’s Medical
Guide. 4th rev. ed. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press,- A four-column introductory article on the
procedure, noting is uses, complications, and a
brief history.
Emily Carroll Shearer
See also Health care; LASIK surgery; Medicine;
Science and technology. Larry Sanders Show, The
Identification Television comedy series
Date Aired from 1992 to 1998
As a satirical look at network television, this series presented
the medium in a way it had not been seen before.
Comedian Garry Shandling had already poked fun
at the television business with his first series,It’s
Garr y Shandling’s Show(1986-1990). Still, the neu-
rotic, self-obsessed character he created for that
Showtime series was merely a warm-up for the
hugely egotistical yet profoundly insecure antihero
of HBO’s The Larr y Sanders Show, created by
Shandling and Dennis Klein. Featuring Shandling
as Larry Sanders, the Johnny Carson-like host of
a late-night television talk show, the program shifted
between Sanders’s on-air interactions with guest
stars, his backstage squabbling with writers and
network executives, and his very messy personal life,
including a wife (Megan Gallagher) who left him
after the first season, a former wife (Kathryn
Harrold) almost as neurotic as he, and several girl-
friends.
Striving to hold both the show-within-the-show
and his star together was producer Artie (Rip Torn),
who tried to smooth talk his way through various
dilemmas. Other regulars included Sanders’s clue-
less sidekick, Hank Kingsley (Jeffrey Tambor), his500 Larry Sanders Show, The The Nineties in America