Minimally Invasive Surgery

What is Minimally Invasive Surgery?

Minimally Invasive Surgery replaces older surgical methods of creating large, open incisions. Instead, small surgical instruments are inserted through tube-like devices called trocars. Surgeons then perform the procedure through these trocars with the guidance of video cameras.

History of Minimally Invasive Surgery

Minimally invasive, or laparoscopic, surgery was originally performed by gynecologists for diagnostic purposes in the 1960’s. Over time as clinical experience grew and laparoscopic surgical tools became more advanced, surgeons were able to perform more complex surgeries. In the late 1980’s, general surgeons began to investigate and adopt laparoscopic techniques. Today, millions of general surgical procedures are performed using this technique including: gallbladder removal, hernia repair, appendectomy, hemorrhoidectomy and more. Minimally invasive surgery is also used for more advanced procedures such as gastric sleeve and gastric bypass for weight loss.

Advantages of Minimally Invasive Surgery

The patient benefits of minimally invasive surgery are dramatic in comparison to traditional open surgery. Minimally invasive surgery offers less pain, reduced scarring, lower risks of infection, less blood loss, shorter hospital stays, quicker return to work, and less occurrence of post operative incisional hernias.

A good example of the advantages of minimally invasive surgery is gallbladder surgery. Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery became popular in the early 1990’s. It is now typically performed as an outpatient surgical procedure, with most patients returning to work and daily activities within four to seven days. In contrast, gallbladder surgery performed through open incisions involved a four to seven day hospital stay, and most patients were not able to return to work for six to eight weeks.

Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery (SILS)

A new minimally invasive surgical option that is available is single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS). This procedure replaces the three to four incisions required by standard laparoscopic surgeries with just one incision in the belly button. The benefits to patients include the potential elimination of visible scars and the pain associated with multiple points of entry. Ask your surgeon if you are a candidate for the SILS procedure.

Patient Procedure

Patients have begun to demand surgeons consider the least invasive approaches in meeting their surgical needs. The internet and news media are rich with information regarding surgical options, and provide information on the best minimally invasive surgeons and clinics. Patients requiring surgery should take it upon themselves to consider all options before agreeing to a treatment plan.

Dr. Long, with BMI Surgery, is trained in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery. He has performed thousands of procedures using this technique, helping countless patients across the nation. Minimally invasive surgery is performed both on an inpatient (stay in the hospital) and outpatient (go home the same day) basis.