There are numerous causes for having surgery. Some procedures can lessen or even eliminate discomfort. Others can improve a bodily function or lessen a symptom of a disorder. Some operations are performed to identify a problem. A surgeon might perform a biopsy, for instance, in which a sample of tissue is removed and examined under a microscope. Some operations, such as heart surgery, can actually save your life.

There are several procedures that can now be performed with far smaller cuts on the body than those that historically required big incisions. Laparoscopic surgery is the term used for this. In order to do the surgery, surgeons introduce a tiny tube containing a camera.