Minimally invasive surgery and improved patient outcomes

In an ideal world, we would enjoy perfect health all of the time. Unfortunately, that is not the reality we live in. Most people experience a variety of health struggles as they age, some of which will likely be fairly serious in nature, such as broken bones or advanced disease. These more severe issues often require surgery of varying degrees to fix. In the past, this typically translated to long recovery times and significant amounts of pain. Thanks to technological advancements, however, today’s patients can often have minimally invasive procedures that allow them to return to their normal lives as quickly as possible. 

In this article, we’ll explore minimally invasive surgery and the benefits it offers patients when compared to traditional, or ‘open’, surgery.  

What is minimally invasive surgery?

The term ‘minimally invasive surgery’ (MIS) refers to an increasingly common form of surgery that minimizes damage to the patient via the use of small incisions and tools such as endoscopes, laparoscopes and robotic arms. Examples of MIS include urological surgery to remove the kidneys or the prostate, spinal surgery such as tumor removal and spinal stenosis treatment, and heart surgery such as mitral valve repair and atrial septal defect repair. Dr. Bo Okubadejo, an experienced provider of comprehensive spinal care, uses MIS to treat back and neck pain. 

Patients undergoing MIS typically have faster recovery times and minimal pain compared with those opting for more traditional surgical procedures. There are a few different kinds of MIS to keep in mind:

• Robotic surgery
• Endovascular surgery
• Endoscopic surgery

Minimally invasive surgeries using robotic arms, as the name implies, employ nimble and small robotic arms to create keyhole incisions in precise areas. Endovascular surgery concerns widening blood vessels via tiny catheters to avoid excessive bleeding and tissue damage. Finally, endoscopic surgery involves using existing body openings instead of creating a new one. Surgeons performing this kind of surgery insert endoscopes through natural orifices, such as the nose or mouth, to avoid making large incisions that require more time to heal. Together, these technological advancements make complex medical procedures more accessible to most people, especially those who are unable to take extended periods of time off work to recover. 

MIS vs traditional surgery

While the medical industry has quickly embraced MIS, the innovative form of surgery is not always possible. Sometimes the only option is traditional surgery. Traditional surgery uses large cuts that allow surgeons direct access to the treatment area. This kind of procedure is still preferred for certain health needs, such as colon resections and heart bypasses, because it gives doctors a better view of the body parts in question. 

As you might imagine, with larger incisions comes increased tissue damage in the surgical area. This leads to longer recovery times and, potentially, noticeable scarring. Because it uses small cuts and tools that precisely target the treatment area, MIS offers patients a shorter recovery time because they don’t have to heal tissue damage in addition to the actual surgical incisions. We’ll go over the benefits of MIS in more detail below, but reduced tissue damage and quicker recovery times are two of the most important of them. 

Benefits of MIS

Now that we know a bit more about MIS vs traditional surgical procedures, let’s discuss why MIS is often the preferred option. MIS offers patients a wealth of advantages, including faster recovery times, reduced pain and better long-term outcomes. We’ll explore each of these in more detail below.

Faster recovery

With traditional surgery, patients have three main recovery processes to go through. They must heal the body part in question, the surgical incision, and the tissue damage to the resulting areas before they are considered fully recovered. MIS, on the other hand, only requires patients to undergo two main recovery processes: the incision site and the specific body part in question. This leads to faster recovery times than traditional surgery.

Reduced pain

Another benefit of MIS is reduced pain. People often underestimate how much pain they’ll experience with surgical procedures. But where does the pain come from? The majority of discomfort that patients experience post-surgery comes from large cuts and trauma to the surgical site. The latter, in particular, can cause bruising and other soft tissue damage that can be surprisingly painful and slow to heal. Patients undergoing MIS typically only have small, unobtrusive incisions to contend with. This means that the pain they experience is often significantly less than what patients undergoing traditional surgery experience.

Improved accessibility

Because it is less traumatic to the body than traditional surgery, MIS allows patients to return to their normal daily lives faster than traditional surgery. This means that patients can go back to work more quickly, minimizing the main downsides to surgery. Instead of avoiding surgery because they can’t afford to be out of work for extended periods of time, patients can have their health needs addressed without the financial hardship that comes from work hiatuses. 

Better long-term outcomes

MIS offers patients better long-term outcomes in terms of complications and cosmetic impacts when compared to traditional surgery. As we briefly mentioned, traditional surgery often leads to scarring and, potentially, a greater risk of infection or post-surgical injury. Because the incision is smaller and the damage to the surgical site is minimal, MIS makes it easier for patients to make a full recovery and return to their daily lives. 

From easier healing to faster returns to work, there are a lot of reasons to love MIS. Are you interested in learning more about this form of surgery and the benefits it offers patients? If so, keep the information above in mind and use it as a starting point for more in-depth research!