Minimally invasive surgery (MIS)

<h2><span style="color: #00826a;">What is minimally invasive surgery?</span></h2>
<p>Another type, called &#8220;endovascular surgery,&#8221; uses X-rays to see inside the body while the surgeon uses special devices that fit inside the blood vessels. This article is about the type of surgery that involves scopes. There are several different types of scopes, but they all work roughly the same way. They consist of a long, thin tube with a tiny camera and a light on the end. The camera sends pictures of the inside of the body to a TV screen. When doing this type of surgery, the surgeon makes a small incision just big enough for the scope to fit through. He or she also makes two or more other incisions that slim tools can fit through. These tools include clamps, scissors, and stitching devices, which the surgeon can control from outside the body. While looking at the picture on the screen, the surgeon uses those tools to do the operation.</p>
<h2><span style="color: #00826a;">What are the different types of minimally invasive scope surgery?</span></h2>
<p>There are lots of different types. Their names are based on the body parts that are involved. The scopes used for the different types of surgery are named that way, too:</p>
<ul>
<li>Thoracoscopes are used in the chest for &#8220;thoracoscopic surgery.&#8221; (&#8220;Thorax&#8221; is Greek for chest.) This type of surgery can be used to remove pieces of lung or to do certain types of heart surgery.</li>
<li>Laparoscopes are used in the belly for &#8220;laparoscopic surgery.&#8221; (&#8220;Lapara&#8221; is Greek for the space between the bottom of the rib cage and the hips.) This type of surgery can be used to remove the gallbladder, appendix, or uterus, or to do lots of other different procedures.</li>
<li>Hysteroscopes are used in the uterus and vagina for &#8220;hysteroscopic surgery.&#8221; (&#8220;Hystera&#8221; is Greek for womb, or uterus.) This type of surgery can be used to remove abnormal growths in the uterus or to do a number of different procedures on the uterus and vagina.</li>
<li>Arthroscopes are used inside joints for &#8220;arthroscopic surgery.&#8221; (&#8220;Arthron&#8221; is Greek for joint.) This type of surgery can be used to repair or rebuild joints in the knee, shoulder, and hip.</li>
</ul>
<p>Endoscopes go down your throat and into the esophagus, stomach, or intestines. (&#8220;Endo&#8221; is Greek for inside or within.) Most times, these scopes are used just to inspect those body parts. Other times, they are used to do a procedure. This might involve getting a small piece of tissue for testing or opening an area that is too narrow.</p>
<ul>
<li>Colonoscopes go up your rectum and into the large intestine, or colon. They are similar to endoscopes.</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Some minimally invasive surgeries involve a surgical &#8220;robot,&#8221; which is a machine that the surgeon controls. This is also called &#8220;robotic surgery.&#8221;</p>
<h2><span style="color: #00826a;">How is minimally invasive surgery different from regular surgery?</span></h2>
<p>In general, but not always, this type of surgery makes recovery easier. That&#8217;s because:</p>
<ul>
<li>It usually involves several small wounds rather than one big one.</li>
<li>The inside of the body does not get as exposed to open air as it would with regular &#8220;open&#8221; surgery.</li>
<li>The organs don&#8217;t get moved around as much.</li>
</ul>
<p>Despite all of the differences with regular surgery, minimally invasive surgery is still surgery. People who have it do have some pain; they often need stitches, and they can develop infections or other problems because of the surgery.</p>
<h2><span style="color: #00826a;">Can patients always choose to have minimally invasive surgery?</span></h2>
<p>No. Many procedures can now be done with a minimally invasive approach. But it&#8217;s not always up to the patient to choose what type of surgery to have. Whether or not a patient can have this type of surgery will depend on:</p>
<ul>
<li>Whether there is a surgeon available who has enough experience doing the type of surgery the patient needs</li>
<li>Why the patient needs surgery (As an example, patients who need surgery to remove very large cancers cannot always have minimally invasive procedures.)</li>
</ul>
<h2><span style="color: #00826a;">What other health problems might the patient have?</span></h2>
<p>Even when a patient starts out having minimally invasive surgery, there&#8217;s no guarantee that it will stay that way. Sometimes surgeons start out doing minimally invasive surgery and then realize that they need to switch to open surgery. This doesn&#8217;t mean the surgeon has done anything wrong; it&#8217;s just something that happens sometimes after a surgery gets started.</p>
<p>If you go in for minimally invasive surgery, be prepared to wake up and find out that you had open surgery. This could happen for a few different reasons, such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>The surgeon found something unexpected when he or she got started.</li>
<li>The surgeon couldn&#8217;t see well enough or properly treat the organ he or she was trying to operate on.</li>
<li>Bleeding occurred that could not be controlled with a minimally invasive approach.</li>
</ul>
<p>The important thing to remember is that if a surgeon switches to open surgery, it is usually to protect the patient&#8217;s safety.</p>


Minimally invasive surgery is a type of surgery that uses special tools that are designed to decrease the size of incisions and reduce how much the body’s tissues get damaged.

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