Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Exploratory surgery is a diagnostic method used by doctors when trying to find a diagnosis for an ailment. With the invention of modern imaging techniques, exploratory surgery is becoming less common in humans.

When do doctors do exploratory surgery?

This surgery is done to find the cause of problems (such as belly pain or bleeding) that testing could not diagnose. It is also used when an abdominal injury needs emergency medical care. This surgery uses one large cut (incision). The provider can then see and check the organs inside the abdomen.

What replaced exploratory surgery?

Computed tomography (CT) was one of the first new imaging techniques on the block. Introduced in the United States in the early 1970s as a way to replace exploratory surgery, CT didn't have a lot of application to the heart until doctors figured out that arterial blockages often contain calcium.