Advanced Laparoscopic Surgeries - What Should You Know?

Laparoscopy is a surgical procedure in which the incision used is small compared to traditional methods. The term laparoscopic comes from the word laparoscope – a thin tool that has a camera and a light fixed on one end. A surgeon inserts this tool inside your body, which then carries the signal from the camera to a video monitor. This the surgeon looks at the monitor and performs the necessary procedures. 

How is a laparoscopic surgery carried out?

Before this method was popularized, incisions were 6-12 inches long. Large incisions were necessary so that the surgeon could see and reach areas he/she was operating on.

In this method, very small cuts are made (around half an inch). The tube with the camera and the light is inserted through this opening.

Advantages of this method over traditional surgery –

• The scars from the surgery are smaller

• The discharge is quicker

• The post-operative pain is less

• You can return to your daily activities early

For better understanding, let’s take a look at an example of intestinal surgery. In traditional surgeries, you may have to stay at the hospital for a week whereas in laparoscopic surgery you will only have to stay two nights at the hospital.

Advanced Laparoscopic surgery 

In a few cases, the surgeon may find it difficult to insert the camera and the light through the same opening. This is when they can use “hand assisted surgery” where a device assists them to reach in with a hand.

There are robot-assisted laparoscopic surgeries where the surgeon only makes the incision but use a robot to perform the surgery. These type of surgeries are very useful for overweight patients, gynaecology and urology surgeries. This method allows the surgeon to be more precise while performing the surgery. The upside of it is less pain after the surgery and a quick recovery.