[The value of laparoscopy. Results of 600 studies performed in an internal medicine department at the General Hospital of Dakar].

600 laparoscopic examinations were performed in an Internal Medicine Department of the general Hospital Dakar (Senegal) from 1984 to 1989 in 402 males and 198 females aged from 7 to 82 years. This examination of simple and quick procedure well tolerated under simple premedication, should be performed only after diffusion of the pneumoperitoneum, per- foration being the major risk. Even if liver cell carcinoma and cirrhosis represent more than an half of the examined cases (52%) due to their high frequency, exploration of peritoneal pathology is the best indication for laparoscopy. Thanks to laparoscopy, 68 tuberculosis, 28 peritoneal carcinomatosis and 11 infectious peri-hepatitis were diagnosed. It remains a major examination perfectly adapted to studies of the so-frequent hepato-peritoneal pathology in Black Africa]