An abdominal exploratory is performed in cases where we do not know exactly what is going on inside the abdomen, but given the clinical signs and the other tests performed it leads us to make the decision that going to surgery to look in the abdomen is the best next step. It can be used as a diagnostic tool by taking biopsies of different structures or organs or it can be used as a treatment tool if we find something that is able to be fixed. If we do not find anything that looks abnormal we always at the very least take biopsies to see if there is something that is there but can only be seen with a microscope.