At Metroplex Health System, we continually seek to find ways of advancing technology in order to improve your experience as a patient.
Since 1988, minimally invasive procedures have been changing the way people think about surgery. Patients who choose these innovative procedures over conventional surgery usually have shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery. This means getting back sooner to the things that are important in life.
How Minimally Invasive Procedures Work
Minimally invasive procedures use state-of-the-art technology to reduce the damage to human tissue when performing surgery. For example, in most procedures, a surgeon makes several small ¾ inch incisions and inserts thin tubes called trocars. Carbon dioxide gas may be used to inflate the area, creating a space between the internal organs and the skin. Then a miniature camera (usually a laparoscope or endoscope) is placed through one of the trocars so the surgical team can view the procedure as a magnified image on video monitors in the operating room. Then, specialized instruments are placed through the other trocars to perform the procedures. There are some advanced minimally invasive surgical procedures that can be performed almost exclusively through a single point of entry – meaning only one small incision. This is called Single Site Laparoscopy, and is another approach to performing traditional laparoscopic surgery using the same tools.
Are you a candidate for a minimally invasive procedure?
These kinds of procedures are not for everyone and only your doctor can determine if a minimally invasive surgery is right for you. These procedures have been proven to be as effective as those of conventional surgery. And more than 20 million Americans have had them.
Benefits of minimally invasive procedures
Not only do these procedures usually provide equivalent outcomes to traditional "open" surgery (which sometimes require a large incision), but minimally invasive procedures (using small incisions) may offer significant benefits as well: