Discover the Benefits of Minimally Invasive
Laparoscopic or “minimally invasive” surgery is a specialized technique for performing an operation that results in smaller incisions and a faster recovery. The process takes its name from the laparoscope, a slender instrument that has a tiny video camera and light on the end. When a surgeon inserts it through a small incision into the patient’s body, he can look at a video monitor and see what’s happening. Without those tools, he’d have to make a much larger opening.
Working this way has several benefits compared with traditional surgery. Because it involves less cutting, the patient:
Technology can help the medical team be precise. In the robotic version of laparoscopic surgery, the surgeon first cuts into the skin and inserts the camera, as usual. Instead of taking hold of his surgical instruments, he sets up a robot’s mechanical arms. Then he moves to a computer console nearby to control the robot’s movements.
With robotic surgery, the monitor gives the surgeon a 3-D, high-resolution, magnified image of the patient’s body. As he peers at the screen, he uses hand controls to operate the robot and surgical instruments. This not only lets him be more exact, but it can mean less impact on the body and less bleeding. The patient may have less discomfort after the operation.
