The word "surgery" often evokes images of large scars and a long, painful recovery. That's changing with laparoscopic surgery.
Laparoscopy, sometimes referred as keyhole surgery, is a method of getting into the abdomen area with minimal incision. Instead of a 5 ½- to 6-inch cut for the traditional "open" surgery, a handful of 0.2-inch cuts are made to allow a small camera and surgical instruments to enter the abdomen. The stomach is inflated with carbon dioxide to create enough room to operate properly.
"(The) only thing we (laparoscopic surgeons) do differently is the way we get in," Dr. Anup Ramani, director of laparoscopy of the University of Minnesota Physicians. "Once we're in, we do it the same way."
Ramani, one of the few surgeons who can perform urological laparoscopic surgeries in Minnesota, has done about 600 to 700 such surgeries in the past five years.
Laparoscopic surgery allows patients to recover faster because no cuts are made through the muscles. It can also allow doctors to see better because the camera can zoom in to specific parts of the organs. Furthermore, there is significantly less blood loss from the operation, a smaller chance of infection and less pain for the patients.
Bolton Payne, a 58-year-old Blaine resident, received a laparoscopic surgery for his prostate in late May after a tumor was discovered on his prostate gland. He said one of his friends, who had his prostate removed laparoscopically last year, had only a small complication unrelated to the procedure.
"I felt pretty confident that I could have it done and not be gutted like a deer," Payne said.
Payne said that when he woke up after the operation, for which he was under anesthesia, he did not feel much pain except when he tried to move. He said he went home the second day after the operation, and was able to get up and walk around two days later.
"It was almost like throwing a light switch," he said.
Dr. Steven Schwartz, assistant professor of urology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, said laparoscopic surgery will be the norm in the coming years.
"All the new residents are being trained in it," Schwartz said, noting that more patients are asking about laparoscopic procedures.
But Schwartz said laparoscopic surgery is unavailable for most patients because the procedure has a steep learning curve. First, the surgeon must rely on the two-dimensional picture by the camera, which cannot provide depth perception. Furthermore, laparoscopic surgery requires the doctors to be able to use instruments that are substantially longer to reach their target.
Ramani said he spent three years as a fellow under Inderbir Gill, a pioneer of laparoscopic surgery, at the Cleveland Clinic in order to be able to perform the procedures on his own.
"You cannot see a thing once and start doing it well," Ramani said. "Most people don't want to dedicate the time and effort."
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