What is minimally invasive surgery

Minimally invasive surgery, as the name implies, is surgery for "minor" wounds. With the continuous development of medical science and technology, the concept of "minimally invasive" has penetrated into every field of surgical treatment. However, because the development of minimally invasive techniques is relatively short compared to traditional surgery, there are some misunderstandings. Therefore, the popularization of minimally invasive knowledge is very important!



The minimally invasive concept is based on curing diseases, reducing the damage caused by surgery, and reducing the impact of surgery on the body. It can be said that minimally invasive is to achieve the best healing purpose with minimal trauma.



Minimally invasive generally includes the following points



1. Laparoscopic surgery



The operation was performed with instruments outside the abdominal cavity through the abdominal wall puncture. Therefore, it is also called "keyhole" surgery, such as: laparoscopic hernia repair, laparoscopic cholecystectomy and so on.



2. Endoscopic surgery



Its working principle is basically the same as that of laparoscopy, but the operation is performed through the natural cavity, such as gastroenteroscopic polypectomy, tracheoscopic surgery, electroscopic surgery, and sinus endoscopic surgery.



3. Luminal surgery



The use of natural channels to perform surgery has the advantages of less trauma, quick recovery, no scar, such as vaginal hysterectomy, transrectal surgery, etc.



4. Vascular interventional surgery



Through X-ray or CT-guided puncture interventional therapy technology, no knife incision, small damage, such as: vascular stent implantation, tumor drug implantation, etc.



5. Tumor ablation surgery



Surgical procedures are performed by ultrasound or CT-guided puncture implantation of ablation needles, such as microwave ablation of thyroid nodules and ablation of liver and lung tumors.



6. Other surgeries



Ultrasound focused treatment, radiation treatment and other technologies, the treatment of no wounds on the body surface.



It is not difficult to see from this category that traditional open surgery is excluded from the modern minimally invasive concept, but how to rationally look at a variety of minimally invasive surgery, which requires "different people, different wisdom."



The minimally invasive concept is summarized as "less trauma, less bleeding, less pain, and faster recovery" is correct, and so is the basic concept of surgery. If you want to truly achieve minimally invasive, the key is to choose a good surgical path and surgical method. For thoracic surgery, the same lesion can include: tracheoscopic surgery, thoracoscopic surgery, and traditional thoracotomy. If the treatment results are the same, of course, tracheoscopic surgery is the least invasive, followed by thoracoscopic surgery, and thoracotomy surgery is the least invasive. For example, gynecological surgery has three approaches: laparoscopic surgery, transvaginal surgery and traditional open surgery. For some diseases, all three approaches may be available, while for other diseases, it may not be appropriate. Therefore, rational treatment of surgical approaches is an important guarantee for achieving minimally invasive surgery. The choice of surgical approach is the first step of surgery, but also the most can reflect the concept of minimally invasive. Depending on the impact on the body, it can be removed through the vagina, without laparotomy, or even without laparoscopy. However, the technical principles that traditional surgery has always emphasized, such as keeping wet, keeping blood free, keeping clear, keeping gentle, etc., are also aimed at keeping minimally invasive. Therefore, these so-called traditional technology principles give minimally invasive a new concept, traditional does not mean backward and obsolete!



Minimally invasive is a concept and principle, but it is difficult to define what is minimally invasive and what is huge. Minimally invasive indications are also composed of the following elements: patient, disease, surgeon, and surgery, and these four must be completely compatible to be the best choice. If the treatment of a disease is not suitable for this type of surgery, or even not suitable for the surgeon, the surgery should be changed, or it should be carried out by the surgeon who is more suitable for this type of surgery, and cannot be forced to do it. If the surgeon does not understand the operation of laparoscopic surgery, forced surgery will certainly not have good results, minimally invasive surgery may make huge trauma, so any surgery should be reasonable from the actual selection.



A comprehensive consideration of minimally invasive surgery should be based on good recovery, with the following advantages:



1. Small wound



Small wound or no cut, no scar, little impact on the body.



Second, the pain is light



The patient felt little pain and the operation was completed in a painless state.



Three, fast recovery



The damage to the organs and the interference to the function of other organs are greatly reduced, and the postoperative recovery time is shortened.



4. Less bleeding



There was almost no bleeding during the operation. Clear vision, fine operation.



5. Short hospital stay



Under normal circumstances, the operation recovery is fast and the cost is relatively low.



To sum up, can the concept of minimally invasive surgery be summarized as follows: no treatment by the observer, no surgery for those who can be treated with drugs, no surgery for those who can be non-invasive, no minimally invasive, and no surgery for those who can be minimally invasive? The operation should abide by the principle of asepsis, follow the clinical approach, apply the appropriate technology, and choose the best treatment plan in order to ultimately achieve good treatment results.