MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY
Minimally Invasive Surgery procedures are performed and led by our team of highly skilled and experienced consultants in many areas of specialties, commonly in General Surgery, Orthopaedic and Spine. Today, we are delighted to provide you an insight on how surgeries have evolved in the last 30 years. Be fearless, as you watch, learn and experience how technological advances can help change your life for the better.
WHAT IS MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY
Undergoing surgery or any medical procedure can be a worrying time, but knowing what to expect during and after the process helps you to be well-prepared. What you experience and how each process affects you depend on the methods and technologies
used to diagnose or treat a specific illness or injury. Broadly speaking, these different procedures are performed in one or a combination of three ways – invasive, non-invasive or minimally invasive.
Medical procedures that are non-surgical are deemed non-invasive. Diagnostic physical examination and imaging studies, such as Ultrasounds and rehabilitative treatments such as chiropractic manipulation are examples of non-invasive
procedures. Quite simply, they are non-invasive because they do not break the skin in a way that surgery does.
In surgical procedures, major open surgeries are highly invasive as they require the surgeons to make long incisions
to the body.
However, with remarkable technological developments, a third choice, the less invasive surgical option, has been made available through Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS). Here, incisions are small and the
procedure is performed by a specialist MIS surgeon. As a result, patients can expect to experience less post-operation pain and heal faster.
MIS has transformed the surgical world, giving more benefits to patients. MIS is performed in General Surgery and across a broad spectrum of specialties such as Gynaecology, Orthopaedic and Urology. Instruments
and methods are varied, but overall, their technological superiority ensures minimal damage to structures whilst striving to attain the same results as open surgeries. Among the commonly known MIS procedures are
Laparoscopy in General Surgery and Arthroscopy in Orthopaedics. These are also referred to as Key Hole Surgery.
During MIS, a miniature camera (endoscope, laparoscope or arthroscope) attached to a long thin
tube, is inserted through one of the small incisions. The projected image on a monitor gives surgeons a magnified view of the surgical area. In the skilful hands of an MIS specialist, state-of-the art surgical tools
are inserted into the body through small incisions of around 0.5–1.5cm and, with the aid of the camera, treatment can be carried out without causing extensive damage to the tissues.
MIS has given patients
a wide range of advantages not found in conventional surgical procedures, including reduced pain and rapid discovery after surgery.
In Laparoscopy, surgical instruments and a camera are inserted into the body through a single or a number of miniature incisions. Here, examinations of the abdominal and pelvic organs are carried out using the laparoscope, a tube with a miniature camera and a monitor connected to it. The procedure has been extensively applied in many areas, not limited to the removal of the appendix and gallbladder, but also colon and stomach cancers; to name a few. Laparoscopy has shortened hospital stay as the procedure minimises trauma to the body, reduces pain and recovery time.
Orthopaedic surgeons first introduced Minimally Invasive Surgery in their operating rooms in the 1970s. Since then, Arthroscopic surgery, a procedure used to treat joint problems and disorders using small incisions, have become standard practice in orthopaedic surgical procedures.
With the use of state-of-the art instrumentation, Arthroscopy has revolutionised the treatment of knee, shoulder, hip, elbow, ankle and wrist. Whether it is the cartilage or ligament that needs repairing, Arthroscopic incisions are limited to the specific problem areas, minimising tissue damage and resulting in less swelling and stiffness in joints as experienced after open surgeries.
The key instrument is the arthroscope, a fibro optic camera which is inserted into the joint through tiny incisions and provides surgeons with a magnified view of the interior of the joint via a monitor – a factor which gives Arthroscopy the edge over conventional orthopaedic surgery.
With Athroscopy’s minimally invasive techniques, patients with sports or other physical injuries and disorders can return to full function in a short time.
