Minimally invasive surgery has become increasingly common across all medical specialities and the field of orthopaedics is no exception. New research and technologies have led to improved methods of many orthopaedic surgical procedures
What is Minimally Invasive Surgery
Minimally invasive surgery refers to any surgical procedure that is performed through tiny incisions instead of a large opening. This can mean the difference between exposing the entire joint through a large, open incision and using small, targeted incisions to address only the problem area.
Benefits of Minimally Invasive Surgery
The smaller incisions allow the patient to have a quicker recovery time and less pain than traditional open surgery with the same benefits as traditional surgery. This results in less risk during surgery, less post-operative pain, shorter recovery times and fewer post-operative complications.
This said, like any type of surgery, patients who undergo minimally invasive orthopaedic surgeries may still be at risk of developing complications with anaesthesia, bleeding, and infection however this occurs with less frequency as a result of newer modern techniques.
Minimally invasive surgery emerged in the 1980s as a safe and effective technique to meet the surgical needs of many patients. In the last 30 years, many surgeons have come to prefer it to traditional (open) surgery, which requires larger incisions which in turn causes more soft tissue trauma and, usually, a longer hospital stay and post-operative recovery.
Since then the use of minimally invasive surgery has expanded widely across many surgical specialties, including general surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology and many more.
A quicker recovery to normal function with fewer complications is the main objective in all surgeries performed with less pain and an aesthetically pleasing outcome is achieved with minimally invasive surgery.
Talk with your doctor about whether you would be a good candidate for this surgical approach.
To prevent complications, patients are encouraged to strictly adhere to pre-operative and post-operative instructions given to them by our orthopaedic surgeon.