The Pros and Cons of Laparoscopic Surgery

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Surgery can be a scary time, but fortunately technology has made it a less frightening experience. Laparoscopic surgery is a minimally invasive surgery where the surgeon makes a very small incision somewhere in the body and inserts a small camera into the opening. The doctor can now see everything he or she needs to see on the television without having to cut the patient completely open. Carbon dioxide, which is a nontoxic gas, creates a small hole where the incision was made so the doctor can get his tools inside the body with extreme precision.

The patient may have to get more than one incision, depending on what kind of surgery they are getting, but will be closed with dissolvable stitches. If you are thinking about getting laparoscopic surgery here are some pros and cons to the experience.

Pros of Laparoscopic Surgery

For starters, the first benefit to laparoscopic surgery is the comfort level patients experience with laparoscopic surgery when compared to traditional surgery. There is much less pain and discomfort compared to regular surgery because of the larger incisions that are made in the body during regular surgery. A domino effect of having less pain is that less pain medicine is actually needed to perform the surgery and after the surgery. The recovery time is way faster with laparoscopic methods due to the smaller cuts and dissolving stitches. You can get back to school, work, or baseball practice in no time!

Less Complications With Laparoscopic Surgery

There are significantly less complications after surgery, such as infection, because there is not a lot of open flesh during the process. Blood clots and pneumonia are also common complications people can get after surgery from recovering in their hospital bed for so long. Because you will be up and about in a much shorter time, it is highly unlikely these ailments will occur. Don’t worry about the summer time either because when the shirt comes off, the small incisions made will have become almost invisible — like the surgery never even happened.

Shorter Time For Laparoscopic Surgery

Many of the laparoscopic surgeries performed today don’t even require you to stay more than one night depending on what specific surgery is being performed. Hundreds of patients go on an outpatient basis every year.

Cons of Laparoscopic Surgery

One of the cons to laparoscopic surgery is that some anesthesia is needed usually in order to have the surgery, which can cause a sore throat upon waking up. Under the diaphragm, air pockets may form from the carbon dioxide that is used to make the incisions bigger. These air pockets can cause abdominal pain as well as chest pain, and may also cause shoulder and neck discomfort. Sometimes people say they have a bloated feeling as well due to the excess air that is in the body. These symptoms tend to go away after two or three days.

Things to Know About Laparoscopic Surgery

Gallbladder, hernia repair, and appendix removal are the most common surgeries performed laparoscopically. The tube ligation procedure is also frequently performed laparoscopically. Even though many operations done this way are performed successfully, it is important that the patient is aware that if complications arise it may be necessary to convert to open surgery.

Laparoscopic Surgery in Somerville, New Jersey

You should only leave your body in the hands of professionals with years of experience. At Somerset Urological Associates, our highly skilled physicians are trained to handle state of the art equipment designed to give you the care and treatment you need. Contact SUA today to learn more about laparoscopic surgery.