A laparotomy is a medical procedure where a large surgical incision is made into the abdomen to access the abdominal cavity. It's used as part of exploratory surgery, as well as being combined with other surgical procedures to treat conditions such as colon cancer.
A laparotomy allows a physician to inspect several organs including the entire lower digestive tract from stomach to large intestine, the liver, the pancreas, the gallbladder, the spleen, the bladder, the prostate in males, the ovaries and uterus in females, the kidneys, the aorta, and the abdominal lymph nodes.
Any procedure involving a laparotomy usually requires a very long recovery time, generally a week in hospital and three more weeks bedrest.