Laparoscopic surgery, also called Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS), band aid 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 opposed to the larger incisions needed in Laparotomy. Keyhole surgery makes use of images displayed on TV monitors to magnify the surgical elements.
Laparoscopic surgery includes operations within the abdominal or pelvic cavities, where as keyhole surgery performed on the thoracic or chest cavity is called Thoracoscopic surgery. Laparoscopic and Thoracoscopic surgery belong to the broader field of endoscopy. There are a number of advantages to the patient with laparoscopic surgery versus an open procedure. These include reduced pain due to smaller incisions and hemorrhaging, and shorter recovery time.
Laparoscopic surgery also referred to as minimally invasive surgery describes the performance of surgical procedures with the assistance of a video camera and several thin instruments. During the surgical procedure, small incisions of up to half an inch are made and plastic tubes called ports are placed through these incisions. The camera and the instruments are then introduced through the ports which allow access to the inside of the patient.
The camera transmits an image of the organs inside the abdomen onto a television monitor. The surgeon is not able to see directly into the patient without the traditional large incision. The video camera becomes a surgeon’s eyes in laparoscopy surgery, since the surgeon uses the image from the video camera positioned inside the patient’s body to perform the procedure.
Benefits of minimally invasive or laparoscopic procedures are:
• less post operative discomfort since the incisions are much smaller
• quicker recovery times
• shorter hospital stays
• earlier return to full activities
• much smaller scars
• There may be less internal scarring when the procedures are performed in a minimally invasive fashion compared to standard open surgery.
Advance laparoscopic surgery with hand-access devices:
The human hand performs many functions during surgery that are difficult to reproduce with laparoscopic instruments. The loss of the ability to place the hand into the abdomen during traditional laparoscopic surgery has limited the use of laparoscopy for complex abdominal surgery on the pancreas, liver and bile duct.
Hand-access devices are new laparoscopic devices that allow the surgeon to place a hand into the abdomen during laparoscopic surgery and perform many of the different functions with the hand that were previously possible only during open surgery. Our Doctor has utilized these new devices to develop a variety of laparoscopic pancreatic, liver and biliary procedures such as the Whipple operation, distal pancreatectomy and liver resection that were not possible previously by standard laparoscopic techniques.
Laparoscopic surgery for liver, pancreas and bile duct disease have had considerable success in our hands. Patients with laparoscopic surgery have much shorter hospital stays, less pain, rapid recovery and early return to work compared to patients with open surgical procedures.