Exploring Surgery Options: Minimally Invasive Vs. Open Surgery
If your medical condition requires a planned surgery, you probably have a ton of questions running through your head:
- Which surgery option is the best for my condition?
- How long will the recovery period be?
- Will I end up with visible scars?
- How painful will it be?
Before you go on to make an appointment for your surgery, make sure you’ve explored all the surgery options. In this blog post, we’ll discuss two main types of surgery options:
- Open Surgery
- Minimally invasive surgery
Open Surgery
Open surgery procedures are done by making a large incision using a scalpel. These incisions can range from 3–4 inches to fairly large incisions, depending on the procedure being performed.
While the surgeon makes the incision safely and effectively, larger incisions are associated with a set of risks:
- Longer recovery time
- More painful
- Longer hospital stay
- Significantly higher risks of complications from infection and bleeding
Of course, there are some situations in which open surgery is preferable. In some cases, for example:
- Only open procedures provide the necessary visual information required to accurately diagnose a condition
- Some surgeries require a larger access to the patient’s anatomy
Minimally Invasive Surgery
Surgeons are constantly looking into new and better techniques that reduce the risks associated with medical procedures.
Enter: minimally invasive surgeries.
The term ‘minimally invasive’ means that these surgical techniques use smaller incisions, and in some cases, no incisions at all. These incisions are usually smaller than an inch, with instruments or camera inserted in the incision. For instance, according to Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, surgeons operate through 3 small incisions in most laparoscopic appendectomies, giving them a magnified view of the patient’s internal organs, in addition to increased flexibility, precision and control.
Some surgery techniques that fall under minimally invasive surgery include:
- Laparoscopy
- Gastroscopy
- Endoscopy
- Cystoscopy
The reason minimally invasive procedures are becoming widely popular is that they require less healing time compared to traditional open procedures. Studies have shown that since laparoscopic surgeries avoid large open incisions, patients experience significantly less blood loss, pain and discomfort. Plus, the fine instruments used in the procedure are less apt to cause tissue trauma, thereby resulting in shorter hospital stays and recovery time.
In fact, studies go as far as to show that Laparoscopic surgeries have remarkably better quality-of-life outcomes than open surgery.
Minimally invasive procedures are also one of the best routes for most orthopaedic procedures! In addition to bunion and heel pain treatments, our certified foot doctors in Miami provide minimally invasive reconstructive foot and ankle surgery options for heel spurs and neuromas (pinched nerve).
Reach out to us today for more information.