Laparoscopic surgery is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that and is often called “pinhole surgery” as this surgical technique involves operating through small incisions, as compared to the larger incisions of more traditional surgical procedures.
Laparoscopic procedures have been performed at Eastern Long Island Hospital (ELIH) for well over a decade and are most often performed under general anesthesia. Not only is laparoscopic surgery a treatment method of choice, it can also be utilized as a method to obtain a more comprehensive diagnosis. Laparoscopic methods provide a live view whereas an x-ray is only two-dimensional. More and more, doctors are using the laparoscopic method to diagnose all types of medical conditions. There are many advantages of laparoscopic surgery over traditional open surgery. The laparoscopic surgical approach offers less post-surgical pain, therefore creating less need for pain medication, less risk of wound infections, smaller scars, shorter hospital stays and faster recovery times.
The most common laparoscopic procedures are cholecystectomy, colon repair or resection and hernia repair. Cholecystectomy is the surgical removal of the gallbladder. A laparoscopic cholecystectomy requires several small incisions, and allows for the insertion of surgical instruments through a special fiber optic camera called a laparoscope. The laparoscope is used to visualize the interior of the abdomen, making it unnecessary to make a large incision.
Colon resection, operations used to remove diseased sections of the colon, can also be performed laparoscopically. During colon resection, canulas (narrow tube-like instruments), allow the surgeon to work inside the patient’s abdomen and colon. With the laparoscopic method, colon function normalizes much faster than with more “traditional” type open procedures.
A hernia is a painful condition that can also be treated with laparoscopic surgery. Hernias are defects in the abdominal wall that occur when the inside layers of the abdominal muscle have weakened, resulting in a bulge or tear. In the same way that an inner tube pushes through a damaged tire, with a hernia, the inner lining of the abdomen pushes through the weakened area of the abdominal wall to form a small bubble. When a loop of the intestine or abdominal tissue pushes into this bubble, severe pain and other potentially serious complications can result.
In laparoscopic inguinal hernia surgery, a telescope attached to a camera is inserted through a small incision that is made under the patient’s belly button. Two additional small incisions (each no longer than the diameter of a pencil eraser) are made in the lower abdomen. The hernia defect is reinforced with a mesh synthetic material made from the same material that stitches are made from, and secured in position with stitches, staples, titanium tacks or tissue glue, depending on the preference of the individual surgeon. Ventral or incisional abdominal procedures can be treated laparoscopically as well.
Most patients are eligible for the laparoscopic method. Even if a patient has had abdominal surgeries in the past, they can be a candidate for this type of surgery.
This information is provided by Agostino Cervone, MD and Lawrence Kelly, MD, board certified surgeons on the medical staff at Eastern Long Island Hospital.