Laparoscopic Surgery
What is laparoscopy?
Laparoscopy is an operation performed under general anesthesia and based on the principle of imaging the abdominal organs by inserting a thin telescope through the belly button into the abdomen. By illuminating the inside of the abdomen, it also gives the opportunity to directly observe the diseases or problems and, if necessary, to treat them simultaneously with the aids inserted through holes of 3-5 mm in various parts of the abdomen. It is also known as closed, bloodless or knifeless surgery among the people.
How is laparoscopic surgery done? In laparoscopic surgery, the organs to be operated are made visible on the screen with the inserted camera and the operation is performed with the images on the screen. Thanks to the camera, it is possible to see the finer details of anatomical structures, as a detailed image is obtained 20 times larger than that seen with the naked eye. Although the number of entrance holes and the width of the incision site vary according to the type of surgery, the incision site width is generally between 0.5-1 cm. Laparoscopy is performed in the operating room under general anesthesia while the patient is asleep. The main reason for this is that the gas administration applied to the abdomen causes tension and pain in the awake person, so the patients are absolutely put to sleep. The abdominal cavity is expanded by injecting gas into the abdomen with the help of tubular cannulas of various diameters and lengths placed. Thus, the instruments are separated from the abdominal wall and a suitable space is gained to allow the instruments to work.
Who can undergo laparoscopy?
There is no age limit for minimally invasive surgery; It can be applied to anyone from a newborn baby to a 100-year-old person. The main determinant in the selection is the laparoscopic surgery experience of the center where the application is made and whether it has the appropriate equipment especially for the pediatric age group. During the choice of surgery, “Is it open surgery? Closed surgery?” While answering the question, it is necessary to evaluate the patient and the special situation of his disease in a good way. Although it can be performed from time to time due to intra-abdominal adhesions, especially in patients who have had open surgery before, this situation poses an obstacle to laparoscopy surgery. In fact, first of all, it is a prerequisite for patients to trust this method; because many patients still rely more on open surgical methods and think that their surgeries will be incomplete or inadequate; however, it has far superior advantages over open surgical methods in terms of medical rather than aesthetic appearance.
What are the advantages of laparoscopic surgery? What are the advantages over open surgery?
In experienced hands, laparoscopic surgery gives good results from operations performed by opening the abdomen. The main advantages of laparoscopic surgery are; The fact that the surgeries can be performed without making long incisions and that there are no aesthetically disturbing traces on the skin surface provides both a visual and aesthetic advantage. Scientific studies have shown that laparoscopic surgeries cause fewer side effects, especially bleeding and infection, for many types of surgery. In addition, less tissue damage in the surgical area provides easier and faster healing. Intra-abdominal adhesions, which occur after open surgeries and cause distress in many patients for the rest of their lives, are less common after laparoscopic surgeries; This minimizes the possibility of laparoscopy, which may be needed due to another secondary disease, and obstruction of the intestines due to intestinal entanglement that may develop in the future due to adhesions. One of the most obvious advantages of the laparoscopic method is that the patient has less pain after the surgery and needs less painkillers. The hospital stay is also shorter in laparoscopic surgery. It will also be easier and faster for the patient to regain normal physical activity and return to work.
What diseases is it used in the treatment of?
Laparoscopic surgery; It is successfully applied in many general surgery operations, especially in the removal of the gallbladder, inguinal hernia, appendicitis, reflux and gastric hernia operations. In addition, minimally invasive techniques are increasingly used in gynecological, orthopedic, urological and cardiovascular surgery. In addition, thanks to advanced laparoscopy techniques, it can be easily applied in cases where the spleen or adrenal gland needs to be removed, in colon cancers, gastric bypass operations. However, these methods can be performed in very few hospitals. The definition of advanced laparoscopy has actually changed a lot over the years. When we consider general surgery operations, 10 years ago, applications beyond gallbladder and appendicitis operations were called advanced laparoscopy, but today, even large bowel cancer operations are not considered advanced laparoscopy, and technically much more challenging morbid obesity, stomach cancer, liver and pancreas surgeries are considered in the advanced laparoscopy class.