Minimally Invasive Surgery

Modern Surgery Using the Latest Tools & Techniques

Minimally invasive surgery isn’t just a single type of operation; rather, it is an overarching term encompassing many types of surgeries that are performed with sophisticated, less intrusive methods. Whenever possible, your surgical team will opt for a less invasive approach, especially because our advanced, state-of-the-art equipment and instruments help patients recover and heal from their operations more quickly. No matter why you require surgery, you can rely on the team at RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group to choose the best possible method personalized to your medical needs that yields favorable results.

Ezisurg contains other products and information you need, so please check it out.

What Is Minimally Invasive Surgery?

Also called laparoscopic surgery (and sometimes called robotic surgery in certain cases), minimally invasive surgery emerged as a safe, effective technique in the early s. In the past 40 years, it has progressed to the point where it is the norm for most surgeons. The surgery uses tools and with the smallest possible incisions to access the surgery site. Instead of longer incisions used to visualize the operating area directly, surgeons use tiny surgical instruments inserted through their small incisions. A camera on a surgical tool called a laparoscope magnifies the surgical site. Not only is surgery guided by this camera, but the surgical team can view the area in greater detail because the images are displayed larger than life on the TV in the operating room.

Minimally invasive surgeries often lead to quicker healing and less post-operative pain, yet garner the same benefits as traditional surgery, otherwise. Whatever is wrong inside your body, you can rely on our team to get you back on your feet as quickly and safely as possible through minimally invasive operations geared to reduce discomfort and post-op pain.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Minimally Invasive Surgeries?

Although not all surgeries can be performed with minimally invasive techniques, the medical evidence shows the “pros” of minimally invasive surgery outweigh most cons.

Some of the many advantages of minimally invasive surgery are:

• Smaller incisions: The size of the incisions is mere millimeters with minimally invasive surgeries. Unlike the large incisions necessary for traditional surgeries, minimally invasive techniques only require incisions long enough to insert surgical instruments and tools.
• Less noticeable post-op scars: Because less skin is cut with the scalpel, incision scars may be hard to see, if they are visible at all.
• Greater surgical precision: Minimally invasive surgery is renowned for its increased accuracy because of the fiberoptic camera used in these procedures. This allows the surgeon to see your internal organs in much better detail.
• Less pain and discomfort: You should recover faster and get back to your regular routine more quickly because of the small size of the surgical incisions.
• Less blood loss: Very tiny incisions mean less blood loss, because larger incisions can create unrelated complications that delay healing.
• Shorter hospital stays: Very few people would say they’d like to be a hospital patient, especially if it’s for days on end. We recommend minimally invasive surgeries for these patients whenever possible, so they can go home sooner and return to work and/or school faster.
• And more

As with any surgery, though, there are risks involved. For instance, like with traditional surgery, patients may bleed, get an infection, or have anesthesia complications. Some patients still take a lengthy time to recover and would have been better suited to traditional surgery, but we will weigh all your options with you to come to the best decision suited for your needs.

Am I Eligible for Minimally Invasive Surgery?

It depends. Not all procedures can be performed through small incisions because the operating area is too large. For example, tumor and lymph node removal for cancer patients often require a larger incision. Patients undergoing craniotomy surgery cannot have minimally invasive techniques, and sometimes total joint replacement patients cannot have minimally invasive procedures, either. Your situation will be thoroughly discussed in preparation for your surgery date, so you are fully aware of the potential risks and benefits of undergoing any type of surgery, all have some level of risk.

Minimally invasive surgery can treat many types of:

• Spinal conditions
• Gland removal
• Hernia repair
• Certain cancer surgeries
• Ear, nose, and throat (ENT) operations
• Gallstone surgery
• Colorectal surgery
• Aneurysm treatment or repair
• Gynecologic surgery
• Heart surgery
• Kidney removal and/or transplant
• Neurosurgery
• Orthopedic operations
• Spleen or appendix removal
• Thoracic surgery
• Urologic surgery
• And more

At the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health), minimally invasive procedures are performed by talented and experienced surgeons using the most advanced laparoscopic and robotic technologies. These internationally recognized surgeons are the very people who you want taking care of you and your family. In fact, they are the doctors who are teaching others how to do what they do.

Surgeons at UTMB have been performing robotic assisted surgeries since , and other minimally invasive procedures such as laparoscopic surgery for much longer. During the past decade, the scope and number of surgical procedures that can be addressed using the robotic platform has increased dramatically.

Want more information on Minimally Invasive Surgery Solutions? Feel free to contact us.

The technology is breakthrough. The surgeons are the best. The benefits are numerous. Minimally invasive procedures are safe, and result in faster and easier recovery.

If you are scheduling surgery for yourself or a loved one, be sure to ask if it can be done using a minimally invasive procedure at UTMB Health. The skills, the knowledge, the leadership and the confidence make the difference.

With the combination of a skilled and experienced multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses and technicians, years of experience with a wide spectrum of minimally invasive techniques, and the most advanced surgical robot available, UTMB Health provides a very high level of service and care to its patients.

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS), commonly referred to as laparoscopy for the abdomen and thoracoscopy for the chest, has dramatically changed the way many different operations can be performed today. Since the introduction of the laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the early s, virtually every classical open operation has been adapted and modified to the minimally invasive approach. Minimal access techniques using small incisions significantly reduce trauma, operative bleeding, respiratory dysfunction and cardiovascular distress (among others).

MIS yields better clinical outcomes and the possibility to offer surgical treatments to populations of higher risk, notably elders and individuals with compromised life expectancy. The most tangible advantages of MIS for the patient include:

• Less pain and decreased use of narcotics
• Faster return to bowel function and earlier institution of medical therapies
• Shorter hospital stay
• Prompt return to normal activities and work
• Less disability and dependence on ancillary services (rehabilitation)
• Better cosmesis (physical appearance)
• In summary, better quality of life

Minimally invasive procedures commonly offered by the surgical teams at UTMB Health include:

• Diagnostic laparoscopy
• Esophago-gastric surgery:
  • Antireflux procedures (Nissen and partial fundoplications)
  • Heller myotomy for achalasia
  • Gastrectomy
• Bariatric surgery:
  • Roux-Y gastric bypass
• Bilio-pancreatic procedures:
  • Cholecystectomy
  • Common bile duct exploration
  • Pancreatic cyst-gastrostomy or jejunostomy
• Solid organ and endocrine surgery:
  • Adrenalectomy
  • Splenectomy
  • Radiofrequency ablation of liver metastases
  • Nephrectomy (living donor)
• Colorectal surgery for benign and malignant disease:
  • Colectomy (right, left, or subtotal colectomy, sigmoidectomy, low anterior resection, and abdomino-perineal resection), colostomy formation or closure, rectopexy for prolapse
  • Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery (TEM)
• Hernia surgery
• Splachnicectomy and neurinectomy for chronic pain

Robot-assisted Surgery

UTMB surgeons were the first in the Southwest to practice computer-enhanced robotic surgery. This revolutionary technology allows the surgeon to perform minimally invasive surgery in cases that otherwise would be performed by conventional open surgery due to current limitations of conventional laparoscopic surgery.

Many abdominal procedures are moving from traditional laparoscopic techniques to the more advanced robotic system. One major advantage of robotic surgery is the enhanced dexterity obtained by using articulated endoscopic instruments which possess 7-degree of freedom, tremor filtration, and scale of motion.

The second great improvement is the use of real, magnified 3-dimensional optical system. The apparatus has two main components—a seven-foot tall tower with robotic arms and a console where a surgeon is seated looking down at a three-dimensional view of the organs on which he or she is working.

From the console, the surgeon controls the four robotic arms that position and maneuver the endoscopic instruments that the surgeon inserts into the patient through small incisions. Organs or systems approached using robotic technology at UTMB include: esophagus, stomach, gallbladder, pancreas, adrenal gland, spleen, kidney, colon and rectum, uterus and adnexa, urinary bladder, and prostate.

The advantages of robotic surgery for the patient are similar to what we see with other minimally invasive procedures.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit ultrasonic energy in surgery.