Laparoscopic surgery was initially performed by surgeons in France in 1987 and was introduced in the United States in 1988. This minimally invasive procedure was performed for cholecystectomy, and is now the standard of care in the treatment of gallbladder disease. Recent advances in laparoscopic surgery and its success in cholecystectomy have permitted the procedure to be used for treating a variety of diseases and for diagnosing and staging.