There is a major shift in the way in which surgeries are performed in the city of New York. Traditionally, the main objective of surgical operations was to get rid of the diseased part of the body or to restore normal function by any other means. There was little regard about the cosmetic effects these surgeries would have. Today, cosmetic appearance after surgery a lot more important. Single incision laparoscopic surgery is one of the approaches that are being adopted to address this need.
Laparoscopic operations have traditionally required three entry ports made in the anterior abdominal wall to facilitate the entry of the laparoscope and the instruments. For single incision surgery, only one of these ports is required for both the laparoscope and the instruments. For this reason, the operation is also known as single port access surgery (SPA) or single port Laparoscopy (SPL).
There are a number of surgical operations that can be performed using this technique. They include gallbladder removal, repair of inguinal and incisional hernias, appendectomy and the removal of pelvic organs such as the ovary and the uterus among others. This list continues to grow by the day as better instruments are invented to make it easier to perform such operations.
One of the advantages is that there is less pain as compared to the traditional approach of laparoscopy. As a result, the patients tend to heal a lot faster. It also yields better results cosmetically bearing in mind that only a small opening is made. The main undoing would be the fact that it is marginally expensive than the traditional methods primarily due to the specialized equipment that is used.
It is important to mention that using the technique is a lot more cumbersome than the traditional methods. Using the same opening for all the instruments may not be that easy for surgeons who are not adequately experienced. This is because instrument crowding obscures the view and the distance from the incision site to the target site is often longer. As a result, the risk of intraoperative injury is higher than in other methods without proper training.
This technique is not suitable for use in patients that are very obese, those that have a massively enlarged abdominal organ and those with a history of multiple operations. This is because of the difficulties that are associated with operating these groups of patients. In case, the operation cannot be completed successfully (as happens in 5 to 10% of cases). Additional ports can be created or even conversion to the open procedure in rare cases.
In spite of the huge success that is attributable to this type of operation, there are some risks that one should be aware of before signing up for it. Bleeding and infections are the most commonly encounter. However, fewer cases are seen as compared to those associated with open surgery and ordinary laparoscopic operations. Incisional hernias that are fairly common with the open technique are a rare occurrence.
This surgical technique has a wide range of applications. It is set to be the main technique in the management of pediatric and gynecological surgical problems. Many training institutions have now incorporated the practice into their curricula and plan to retrain specialist surgeons and residents.
Laparoscopic operations have traditionally required three entry ports made in the anterior abdominal wall to facilitate the entry of the laparoscope and the instruments. For single incision surgery, only one of these ports is required for both the laparoscope and the instruments. For this reason, the operation is also known as single port access surgery (SPA) or single port Laparoscopy (SPL).
There are a number of surgical operations that can be performed using this technique. They include gallbladder removal, repair of inguinal and incisional hernias, appendectomy and the removal of pelvic organs such as the ovary and the uterus among others. This list continues to grow by the day as better instruments are invented to make it easier to perform such operations.
One of the advantages is that there is less pain as compared to the traditional approach of laparoscopy. As a result, the patients tend to heal a lot faster. It also yields better results cosmetically bearing in mind that only a small opening is made. The main undoing would be the fact that it is marginally expensive than the traditional methods primarily due to the specialized equipment that is used.
It is important to mention that using the technique is a lot more cumbersome than the traditional methods. Using the same opening for all the instruments may not be that easy for surgeons who are not adequately experienced. This is because instrument crowding obscures the view and the distance from the incision site to the target site is often longer. As a result, the risk of intraoperative injury is higher than in other methods without proper training.
This technique is not suitable for use in patients that are very obese, those that have a massively enlarged abdominal organ and those with a history of multiple operations. This is because of the difficulties that are associated with operating these groups of patients. In case, the operation cannot be completed successfully (as happens in 5 to 10% of cases). Additional ports can be created or even conversion to the open procedure in rare cases.
In spite of the huge success that is attributable to this type of operation, there are some risks that one should be aware of before signing up for it. Bleeding and infections are the most commonly encounter. However, fewer cases are seen as compared to those associated with open surgery and ordinary laparoscopic operations. Incisional hernias that are fairly common with the open technique are a rare occurrence.
This surgical technique has a wide range of applications. It is set to be the main technique in the management of pediatric and gynecological surgical problems. Many training institutions have now incorporated the practice into their curricula and plan to retrain specialist surgeons and residents.
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