What is the difference between Open Surgery and Minimally Invasive Surgery by Dr. Iraniha
Open Surgery
Normally, surgeons need to make a big incision in the abdominal wall to enter the abdominal cavity, in order to perform any surgical tasks, including removal, repair or reconstruction of the intra-abdominal structures. This technique is called “open surgery”, which has been around for many centuries and still is the most common way of performing the vast majority of abdominal operations all around the world. This type of open surgery is associated with increasing trauma to the patient which translates to more postoperative pain, longer hospital stay and longer recovery time.
Minimally Invasive Surgery
Minimally invasive surgery was a revolution in surgery. The concept was genius but it took many decades to evolve. It requires modern technology and it has endless potential for improvement. Minimally invasive surgery is a way of performing the surgical tasks with less trauma to the patient and therefore it decreases postoperative pain, lessens the postoperative hospital stay and recovery, decreases the postoperative complications and improves the patient outcome. The concept of the minimally invasive surgery can apply to all surgical disciplines. In order to perform minimally invasive abdominal surgery, the surgeon makes multiple small incisions (instead of large abdominal incision in the open surgery) and places small ports inside the abdominal cavity. Then CO2 is insulated into the abdomen to inflate the abdominal cavity and allow the surgeon to see the intraabdominal structures easily and perform the necessary surgical tasks. A scope is then inserted into the abdomen through one of the ports. This scope is connected to the video camera which transfers the images to a monitor for surgeon and the rest of the surgical team to view. There are variety of special instruments that allow the expert robotic surgery surgeon to perform the different surgical tasks. In the abdominal surgery, there are two different types of minimally invasive surgeries, called laparoscopic and robotic surgery.
Laparoscopic Surgery
In the laparoscopic surgery, the surgeon and his/her assistant stand next to the patient and place the laparoscopic instruments and scope directly into the abdomen to perform the surgery.
Robotic Surgery
In the robotic surgery the special robotic instruments are connected to the robotic arms and surgeon sits behind a console away from the patient and move the joysticks. The robotic platform translates the surgeon`s hands movement into the movement of the tip of the special instruments to perform the necessary surgical tasks. The robotic platform offers better visualization and wrested instrumentation and allow the surgeon to perform a very precise operation. Since, in both techniques the entire procedure is done through the small incisions and by eliminating the large open abdominal incision the trauma to the patient is minimized, the post-operative results are comparable in hands of expert laparoscopic and robotic surgeons.
At Surgical Oasis Institute an Orange County Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgery center Dr. Iraniha has the expertise to perform all complex laparoscopic and robotic surgical procedure to minimize the patients’ postoperative pain and improve their outcome. For more information about the laparoscopic surgery or robotic surgery, please contact Dr. Iraniha at 949-646-8444.
