Teaching laparoscope by Storz, Germany, 1980-1990

Learning how to use and see using a laparoscope takes time and patience. A laparoscope is a long, thin instrument with a camera which gives tunnel like views into the body. This instrument allows two people to look through a laparoscope at once, so a student can be talked through the various anatomical landmarks they are seeing.

This instrument was owned by Mr John Wickham (1927-2017), who specialised in urology and was one of the first cohort in the United Kingdom to carry out and champion keyhole surgery for its patient and surgeon benefits. He coined the phrase minimally invasive surgery and set up the Society of Minimally Invasive Therapy in 1989. Since 2000, SMIT is the Society for Medical Innovation and Technology and continues to bring together surgeons, medics, engineers and medical device developers. John was also among the first to used robotic assisted surgery in his work and introduced shock wave therapy for kidney stones to the United Kingdom.