Most people do not enjoy surgery, but thanks to advances in medicine, minimally invasive surgeries can now be performed with greater efficiency and reduced risks. Minimally invasive surgery may help speed recovery time from herniated discs, spinal stenosis or other orthopedic conditions faster.
Minimally invasive procedures generally involve making smaller incisions, leading to less pain and discomfort after treatment. Read on to discover six advantages of this form of surgery.
1. Less Pain
Surgical incisions tend to heal faster with less trauma, leading to reduced post-surgery pain and discomfort as well as decreased need for pain medications.
Your surgeon can access the treatment area through smaller incisions, lowering infection risks by restricting germs from infiltrating as deeply into your system.
Small incisions create less visible scars, making the surgery safer for elderly individuals or those at high risk from scarring such as those living with certain health conditions. Many patients can leave hospital on the same or subsequent days following their procedure, making recovery faster while reducing expenses associated with prolonged hospital stays.
2. Less Complications
Surgery can be daunting. Many associate it with risks like cuts and pain during recovery; but you could benefit from less invasive yet equally effective procedures that use minimally invasive techniques instead.
Less invasive surgeries involve smaller incisions – often only millimeters wide – which heal more quickly after surgery, leaving less noticeable scarring post-surgery.
When choosing a surgeon for minimally invasive surgery, make sure that they have extensive experience performing your procedure. Consider their board certification and membership of professional organizations when making your choice. A good doctor should also be able to advise whether alternative treatments such as physical therapy or medication might suffice in addressing health concerns.
3. Shorter Hospital Stay
Surgeons that make procedures with smaller incisions cause less strain to muscles, nerves and tendons during surgery; this reduces infection risks afterward as well as pain intensity – and patients require less narcotic medication post-procedure and can return more quickly to work or their usual activities.
Minimally invasive surgeries are frequently done as same-day procedures, eliminating the need for overnight hospital stays. Furthermore, patients often find them more tolerable than traditional surgeries due to decreased bleeding and pain levels.
Laparoscopic (minimally invasive) surgery requires one or more small incisions in order to access the area being treated, enabling doctors to use tools and cameras through tubes. Studies have revealed that laparoscopic procedures often result in less complications, shorter hospital stays, and improved recovery rates than traditional surgeries.
4. Less Scarring
When undergoing minimally invasive procedures, your surgeon will use small incisions instead of one large cut for healing purposes and will leave less noticeable scars behind than traditional surgeries sites.
Based on your type of surgery, incisions may be made in skin folds or around your belly button or through laparoscope devices inside your uterus (also called laparoscopy). A lighted telescope and small surgical instruments will then be inserted through these openings in order to perform your procedure.
Smaller incisions also minimize tissue trauma and swelling post-op, so your body will experience less pain and swelling after the operation. This means faster healing at home and more timely return to work or other activities – you may even require less painkillers, potentially decreasing risk of dependence and addiction.
5. Less Blood Loss
Minimally invasive surgery allows surgeons to perform surgical procedures with smaller incisions on the body, meaning less blood is lost during and after each procedure.
Minimally invasive surgeries differ significantly from traditional open surgery in that they use endoscopes (narrow tubes with camera capabilities) to view the area being treated. For instance, when treating hiatal hernias with minimally invasive techniques such as endoscopy and repair using slim tools. For instance, one such minimally invasive technique involves inserting a long tube equipped with video camera into your belly button in order to access its location and repair using slim tools.
Minimally invasive surgeries may help people recovering from specific health conditions to recover more quickly and with reduced post-surgery pain, but only surgeons trained to use these techniques should employ these approaches.
