Incredibly, today’s minimally invasive surgical techniques trace back to a veterinarian in 1805 who used a system of candles and mirrors to examine canine bladders. Over the next century, lenses, light sources, and specialty tools evolved to the point where endoscopic examinations became common.
It wasn’t until the 1990s, however, that laparoscopic techniques gained a firm foothold in medicine, though a majority of tubal ligations used these methods by the mid-1970s. Today, a wide range of gynecological surgeries have minimally invasive approaches, saving patients days or even weeks of recovery time.
Our doctors at OBGYN Care in Newport Beach and Irvine California take it one step further, using the Da Vinci® robotic surgical system to take minimally invasive surgery to the next level. Using state of the art digital imaging combined with ultra-precise computer-controlled robotics, your procedure has much less impact on surrounding tissue than with traditional open surgery methods.
The key to minimizing damage to adjacent tissue is a way for the surgeon to visualize where the work takes place. For procedures targeting organs deep within the body, this once meant large incisions through muscle walls, so these could be pulled back out of the way giving the doctor a clear view.
Digital imaging tools are now small and in high resolution. Your surgeon can now see deep into the pelvis with an incision about half-an-inch long. There’s no longer a need for a clear line of sight through a long incision.
As surgical visualization changed, so, too, did the tools used to perform surgeries. Increasingly, these became designed for keyhole incisions. Robotic assistance in the form of the Da Vinci system provides movements and articulations beyond those that the human hand can perform, with degrees of precision far beyond the abilities of the finest surgeon.
The most obvious difference between conventional and minimally invasive surgery is, as noted, incision size. Several small incisions heal more quickly and more discreetly than a single, large incision. Other key benefits of minimally invasive techniques include:
This means less downtime for you. You can return to work, to school, or to other regular activities sooner than you could with traditional surgery.
Some of the gynecological surgeries with minimally invasive approaches include:
Contact us at whichever OBGYN Care location is most convenient for you to discuss the benefits of minimally invasive techniques for your condition. You can call tus directly or request an appointment online from the link on this page. Schedule your consultation today.
