Common use of laparoscopic surgery was extended during the last ten years worldwide, as well as in our Republic. The contribution of laparoscopy to surgery is compared sometimes with the contribution of ether anesthesia. Despite this, discussions persist on the advantages and disadvantages of this method among surgeon as well as physicians from other disciplines, in particular those who indicate patients for laparoscopic operations. The ten-year use of laparoscopy in surgery should be a sufficiently long period for certain general evaluations of the asset of this method. The submitted paper compares some evaluating criteria of laparoscopic surgery and „classical“ laparotomic operations. It is obvious that there can be many evaluating aspects and that each aspect has its specific weight. In the submitted paper some of these aspects are compared and discussed with regard to their possible contributions to laparoscopic and laparotomic surgery.

        Key words: laparoscopy, contribution, comparison, classical surgery.