Minimally Invasive Surgical Techniques Differ than Open Surgery
By using minimally invasive surgical techniques, surgeons typically use a variety of techniques to operate with less injury to the body than with full-scale open surgery. In general, minimally invasive surgery is safer than open surgery and allows you to recover faster and heal with less pain and scarring. Minimally invasive surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis or requires only a short hospital stay. Some of the benefits are, but not limited to:
- Less scarring and bleeding surrounding the incision area
- A smaller incision made in a less conspicuous spot
- Less damage caused to the nerves, muscles, and tissue surrounding incision point
- Lessens the amount of work your immune system must do
- Minimizes the use and necessity of medications, antibiotics, and narcotics
- All around less trauma
- Reduced recovery time
These are just a few of the benefits gained through the use of minimally invasive surgery.
Minimally Invasive Surgery Utilizes Small Incisions
Unlike traditional surgery, doctors who practice minimally invasive surgical techniques don’t make large incisions whatsoever. Instead, extremely small incisions are made – only large enough for the insertion of miniscule cameras equipped with microscopes and tiny fiber-optic flashlights.
How Does it Work
They take a miniature camera (usually a laparoscope or endoscope) and place it through one of the trocars so a member of the surgical team can view the procedure as a magnified image on video monitors in the operating room. The next steps use specialized instruments that are placed through the other trocars to perform the procedures. In some cases, such as minimally invasive colon surgery, a slightly larger incision may be needed.
Are you a Candidate for Minimally Invasive Surgery
These kinds of procedures are not for everyone and only your doctor can determine if a minimally invasive surgery is right for you. These procedures have been proven to be as effective as those of conventional surgery. And more than 20 million Americans have had them.
