Minimally Invasive Surgery

Minimally invasive surgery is a type of surgery that uses advanced technology and specialized tools with miniature cameras and instruments to perform diagnostic and operative procedures for treatment.

Minimally invasive options have smaller incisions or no incisions, reduce how much of the body’s tissue gets damaged, allows for shorter recovery time for quick return to regular activities, produces less scarring, and allows for outpatient procedures or shorter inpatient stays for those procedures requiring admission. Laparoscopy, Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopy, and Hysteroscopy are two commonly minimally invasive techniques used.

Laparoscopy uses a small camera called a laparoscope that is place through a small incision in the belly button to visualize the abdominal and pelvic cavities. The abdomen is filled with carbon dioxide gas to allow for visualization of the pelvic organs. The image from the camera is enlarged on a computer screen for the surgeons to see and operate. The doctor then makes two to three incisions that are about a half-inch long for additional instruments to perform surgical procedures. Laparoscopy is performed in the operating room and requires anesthesia but allows for quick recovery allowing patient to return to work within two – three weeks.

Procedures that can be performed laparoscopically include hysterectomy, removal of ovarian cysts, removal of endometriosis, removal of fibroids, and many more.

Robotic surgery is a type of minimally invasive surgery. “Minimally invasive” means that instead of operating on patients through large incisions, we use miniaturized surgical instruments that fit through a series of quarter-inch incisions. When performing surgery with the da Vinci Si—the world’s most advanced surgical robot—these miniaturized instruments are mounted on three separate robotic arms, allowing the surgeon maximum range of motion and precision. The da Vinci’s fourth arm contains a magnified high-definition 3-D camera that guides the surgeon during the procedure.

The surgeon controls these instruments and the camera from a console located in the operating room. Placing his fingers into the master controls, he is able to operate all four arms of the da Vinci simultaneously while looking through a stereoscopic high-definition monitor that literally places him inside the patient, giving him a better, more detailed 3-D view of the operating site than the human eye can provide. Every movement he makes with the master controls is replicated precisely by the robot. When necessary, the surgeon can even change the scale of the robot’s movements: If he selects a three-to-one scale, the tip of the robot’s arm will move just one inch for every three inches the surgeon’s hand moves. And because of the console’s design, the surgeon’s eyes and hands are always perfectly aligned with his view of the surgical site, minimizing surgeon fatigue.