Laparoscopic Surgery

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Laparoscopic surgery, also called minimally invasive surgery (MIS), bandaid surgery, or keyhole surgery, is a modern surgical technique in which operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions (usually 0.5 - 1.5 cm) as compared to larger incisions needed in traditional surgical procedures. Laparoscopic surgery includes operations within the abdominal or pelvic cavities, whereas keyhole surgery performed on the thoracic or chest cavity is called thoracoscopic surgery. Laparoscopic and thoracoscopic surgery belong to the broader field of endoscopy.

Conceptually, the laparoscopic approach is intended to minimize postoperative pain and speed up recovery times, while maintaining an enhanced visual field for surgeons. Due to improved patient outcomes, in the last two decades, laparoscopic surgery has been adopted by various surgical sub-specialties including gastrointestinal surgery (including bariatric procedures for morbid obesity), gynecologic surgery and urology. Based on numerous prospective randomized controlled trials, the approach has proven to be beneficial in reducing postoperative morbidities such as wound infections and incisional hernias (especially in morbidly obese patients), and is now deemed safe when applied to surgery for cancers.

There are a number of advantages to the patient with laparoscopic surgery versus an open procedure. These include:

• reduced blood loss, which equals less risk of needing a blood transfusion.
• smaller incision, which equals less pain and shorter recovery time.
• less pain, which equals less pain medication needed.
• Although procedure times are usually slightly longer, hospital stay is less, and often with a same day discharge which equals a faster return to everyday living.
• reduced exposure of internal organs to possible external contaminants thereby reduced risk of acquiring infections.