During the course of your life, you may need some kind of surgery. The good news is that more and more operations can be performed on an outpatient basis, thanks to minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery.
Today, even complex procedures are considered “day surgeries” where you have the operation in the morning and are home by dinner time.
What is Laparoscopic Surgery?
Laparoscopic surgery is a surgical procedure in which a fiber-optic instrument is inserted through the abdominal wall to either view the organs in the abdomen or to permit a surgical procedure.
Laparoscopic incisions are tiny ─ which minimizes pain, blood loss and risk of infection. What’s more, you can be spared the expense and stress of a hospital stay.
Did you know all of these operations can be routinely performed as outpatient procedures?
- Bariatric Lap-Band® Removal
- Gallbladder Removal
- Inguinal or Groin Hernias
- Ventral Hernia or Umbilical Hernia
What Happens During Minimally Invasive Laparoscopic Surgery?
Lap-Band® Removal |
Gallbladder Removal |
Inguinal or Groin Hernias |
Ventral Hernias or Umbilical Hernias |
A series of steps describe the process in a typical procedure:
- The surgeon makes 3 or 4 small incisions (usually less than an inch each).
- A miniature camera (a laparoscope) is placed through one of the incisions and images from the camera are projected onto monitors in the operating room.
- The surgeon uses these images to get a clear and magnified view of the surgical area.
- Tiny laparoscopic surgical tools are placed into the other small incisions to perform the procedure.
- Once the surgery has been completed, the incisions are closed and the patient is moved into the recovery room.
Same-Day Surgery Recovery
After careful monitoring throughout the day by the surgical team, and with clearance from your surgeon, you can often go home by late afternoon, so long as there are no post-op complications. (Laparoscopic surgery has a very low complication rate).
As technology continues to improve, more and more operations will include smaller incisions and less, if any, time in the hospital. And this means less pain, less expense and quicker recovery for you.
About Dr. Seun Sowemimo, MD, FACS
Dr. Seun is a top NJ bariatric surgeon and the medical director at Prime Surgicare, with offices in Freehold serving Monmouth and Ocean counties. He is board-certified, Columbia and Yale University fellowship-trained in advanced laparoscopic, bariatric and general surgery.
To learn more, visit his YouTube channel or call Prime Surgicare at (732)-982-2002.