Basics Relating To Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery

By Edward Thomas


There is a major shift in the way in which surgeries are performed in the city of New York. Traditionally, the main objective of surgical operations was to get rid of the diseased part of the body or to restore normal function by any other means. There was little regard about the cosmetic effects these surgeries would have. Today, cosmetic appearance after surgery a lot more important. Single incision laparoscopic surgery is one of the approaches that are being adopted to address this need.

Laparoscopic operations have traditionally required three entry ports made in the anterior abdominal wall to facilitate the entry of the laparoscope and the instruments. For single incision surgery, only one of these ports is required for both the laparoscope and the instruments. For this reason, the operation is also known as single port access surgery (SPA) or single port Laparoscopy (SPL).

The technique is used for a wide range of conditions. These include gall bladder removal (cholesystectomy), removal of the appendix, repair of hernias and in pelvic surgeries such as the removal of the uterus and the ovary. As it continues to gain acceptance in the community of surgeons, this list is bound to increase even further.

One of the advantages is that there is less pain as compared to the traditional approach of laparoscopy. As a result, the patients tend to heal a lot faster. It also yields better results cosmetically bearing in mind that only a small opening is made. The main undoing would be the fact that it is marginally expensive than the traditional methods primarily due to the specialized equipment that is used.

It is important to mention that using the technique is a lot more cumbersome than the traditional methods. Using the same opening for all the instruments may not be that easy for surgeons who are not adequately experienced. This is because instrument crowding obscures the view and the distance from the incision site to the target site is often longer. As a result, the risk of intraoperative injury is higher than in other methods without proper training.

The technique is a bit difficult to execute in persons that are very obese. The same challenges may be encountered in persons who have an organ that is massively enlarged or those that have undergone other abdominal surgeries in the past. At times, it is not possible to complete the operation using the single incision. Whenever that happens more ports are created or a conventional (longer) incision made.

There are risks that you need to be aware of even as you consider undergoing the operation. Bleeding and surgical site infections are the most frequently encountered but their incidence is far less than what is seen with the other methods. Incisional hernias are a common problem with open surgery but with this technique they are a rare occurrence.

Single incision surgery is a specialist procedure that continues to rise in popularity among surgeons and patients. Due to its minimal invasive nature, the risks that are usually associated with operations are markedly reduced. Gynecology and pediatrics are the two fields of medicine that have readily embraced the technique.




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