Minimally Invasive Surgery

Last Updated: Nov. 1, 2003

Less pain, smaller scars, shorter hospital stays
For many surgical procedures, the method of choice has shifted from traditional open surgery to the use of less invasive means. These minimally invasive alternatives usually result in less pain, scarring and recovery time for the patient.

Advanced medical technologies – such as a laparoscope, a tiny telescope that allows the surgeon to see inside the body -– have transformed many types of surgeries.

Although this type of procedure has been known since the beginning of the 19th century, it was not until the advent of high-resolution video camera that laparoscopic surgery became very popular among surgeons.

During laparoscopic surgery, the surgeon makes a small cut in the skin and then introduces a harmless gas, such as carbon dioxide, into the body cavity to expand it and create a large working space.

Through additional small cuts, a rod shaped telescope, attached to a camera, and other long and narrow surgical instruments are placed into the newly formed space. By this means, under high magnification, diseased organs can be examined with minimal trauma to the patient.

Almost every organ in the human body has become accessible to the surgeon’s camera and scalpel. According to Marelyn Medina, M.D., of the Society of Laparoscopic Surgeons, as new surgical instruments and better cameras and video display systems are developed, the frontiers for laparoscopic surgery will expand even further.

Source: The Society of Laparscopic Surgeons, www.sls.org

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