Over the past 50 years laparoscopic procedures have emerged as an alternative to ablative procedures in which large incisions are made into the body for performing surgery. Today, laparoscopic surgery or minimally invasive surgery is used for several procedures such as cholecystectomy, colectomy, nephrectomy, gamete intrafallopian transfer, etc.

Laparoscopic surgery has its share of advantages and risks that a person should be aware of. Here's a lowdown on the pros and cons of laparoscopic surgery.

Risks

There are risks associated with minimally invasive surgery that can cause problems at any stage of the operation. The administration of an anesthetic may not be of the correct dosage or the anesthetic used may react with the patient. Cardiac arrhythmia and respiratory complications may result. This; however, is a general risk present in every surgical procedure and not just laparoscopic surgeries.

The introduction of the laparoscope may cause injury to the abdominal walls and internal bleeding. Sometimes injury to internal solid organs may result. Patients run the risk of having to combat pneumonia and bronchitis after the surgery. Thromboembolism or the formation of a blood vessel clot may take place at the site of the surgery. Handling laparoscopic surgery instruments requires special skills and the surgeon performing the operation needs to be sufficiently experienced and confident so as to not perforate an innocent internal organ.

The risk of infection although low is still present. However, it is more a function of the theater environment and cleanliness maintained rather than the procedure itself. Statistics show that infection is the most common complication with laparoscopic surgery although the rate is far lower than what it is for open surgeries.

Operative laparoscopy can also occasionally lead to incisional bowel herniation if the surgery sites are not correctly closed after the operation.

Benefits

The benefits of laparoscopic surgery are many and this is why it is regularly preferred over open surgical procedures. Since the incisions made during laparoscopic surgery are small they cause less pain after surgery and less blood loss during the procedure. In fact reduced post operative trauma and less need for pain killing medicine is a big advantage of laparoscopic surgery. The hospital stay is shorter and the patient can resume oral intake of food faster as compared to a similar procedure performed using open techniques. There are fewer complications and convalescence is fast. The risk of infection is reduced as the procedure minimizes the exposure of the internal organs to the external atmosphere. Using robotic instruments also helps doctors improves precision by eliminating tremors and unsteadiness of the hand. Since the incidence of complications is directly proportional to the experience of the practitioner, it benefits the patient if the antecedents of the surgeon are properly checked before deciding to utilize his services. All the above mentioned benefits result in significant cost savings for the patient. At present most benefits related to minimally invasive surgery are short-term benefits; however, as technology marches forward we will surely see significant long-term benefits as well.