Surgery can be scary, inconvenient and carry risk. That is why there are many medical professionals at London Bridge Orthopaedics (and all over the world) who want to alleviate these. How can the patient recover quicker? Can there be less scarring? Can there be less pain? The answer that has come up is minimally invasive surgery.

The first minimally invasive surgery was to remove a gall bladder. Dr J. Barry McKernan made a 10mm incision, inserted a laparoscope (small camera) into the patient’s abdomen to see what he was doing and carry out the procedure. By only having a small incision, the patient’s recovery time was reduced to a fraction compared to full surgery.

This technique has now spread to hundreds of different conditions, such as ankle arthroscopy that we treat in our clinic due to its effectiveness.

What Are the Benefit of Minimally Invasive Surgery

• Less bleeding
• Fewer infections
• Fewer complications
• Quicker recovery
• Less scarring
• Lower costs to patient/health provider

What Types of Minimally Invasive Surgery Are There?

With the advancement of technology in the past few decades, robotic minimally invasive surgery is now possible. This involves the surgeon taking control of a console to carry out the robotic-assisted surgery. The robotic arms are controlled by the doctor and software takes the doctors movements and makes them extremely precise.

This type of surgery is usually carried out for precision-delicate surgeries, such as cancers of the head and neck. However, robotic-assisted surgery isn’t always recommended. Most orthopaedic surgeries will use minimally invasive or open surgery.

What Are the Outcomes Compared to Open Surgery?

The outcomes of minimally invasive surgery are comparable to open surgery in most cases, without many of the drawbacks. This varies from between different ailments, so ask your doctor about a comparison between both options.

Is Minimally Invasive Surgery Available to Everyone?

Unfortunately, no. Depending on the ailment, the access to the surgery site may make it difficult or impossible for a surgeon to conduct a minimally invasive surgery. Your doctor will be able to discuss which treatment option is best suited to your needs.

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