Laparoscopic surgery is not a new
word for most of us. People in general are quite aware of this mode of surgical
treatment, that it is better than formal open surgery in terms of recovery. And
it is not uncommon for patients to demand laparoscopic surgery for various
surgical treatment they need. It is really good that people are aware of their
options and are asking for it.
Today I feel like talking about aspects of this modality of
surgical treatment that people are not much aware about. Laparoscopy means
Lapro that is your tummy and scopy means a telescopic camera, thus any surgery
of abdomen that is done by a minimal invasive method using a telescope is
called Laparoscopic surgery. Similar modality used for any surgery of your
chest is called Thoracoscopic surgery. Thus a surgery is performed by making
very small incision (cuts) in your tummy and inserting instruments and a telescopic
camera through it and performing surgery. Whatever is done in your tummy
is seen on the monitor in the operation theater and thus a big cut in your
tummy is avoided.
The general perception is that the faster
recovery is due to the small cut on the skin. My patients commonly ask me
" Sir how many stitches I will get?" , and I always say it does not
matter. What people don't know is that, the wall of your tummy is itself an
organ. Just like your leg and hands, and it is not just skin but multiple layer
of muscles, fat and skin. It has many important function also, like they are
the key muscles in your basic body function like breathing, coughing, passing
stool and urine. They are also very important for different body movements like
bending, lying and getting up. Any decrease is the health of the wall of your
tummy affects you in multiple ways. And laparoscopic surgery does not just
reduce the length of scar on the skin but also on the whole wall of your tummy.
Hence it helps to maintain the natural strength of your tummy, causes faster
recovery, less breathing problems after surgery and decreases the chances of
hernia through the operation site.
It is a technically demanding skill, and also needs
very specialized equipment. Fortunately with time there has been significant
advances in the instruments and skills of surgeons. So the technique which was
previously used for some basic surgeries like gallbladder and appendicectomy is
now widely used for even very complex surgeries like cancer, weight loss and
other major surgeries of your tummy and chest. For a lot of medical conditions,
surgery was previously avoided due to the complications and poor recovery with
open surgery and patents used to suffer, with no option of an effective
treatment with low complication rate. But with laparoscopy, the recovery being
faster and complications less, many of these diseases are very effectively
treated with laparoscopic surgery with acceptable rate of complications. The
patients are being able to walk within hours of surgery, can take liquids and
diet very early depending on the type of surgery and are being discharged very
early due to laparoscopy.
Thus I would like to again reaffirm that " There is
much more to Laparoscopic surgery than mere small scar and your tummy wall is
not just skin but an active organ of your body".
Disclaimer: The same article has been published by me on practo.com
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