Laparoscopic Surgery - Advantages

Advantages

There are a number of advantages to the patient with laparoscopic surgery versus an open procedure. These include:

  • Reduced hemorrhaging, which reduces the chance of needing a blood transfusion.
  • Smaller incision, which reduces pain and shortens recovery time, as well as resulting in less post-operative scarring.
  • Less pain, leading to less pain medication needed.
  • Although procedure times are usually slightly longer, hospital stay is less, and often with a same day discharge which leads to a faster return to everyday living.
  • Reduced exposure of internal organs to possible external contaminants thereby reduced risk of acquiring infections.

Although laparoscopy in adult age group is widely accepted, its advantages in pediatric age group is questioned. Benefits of laparoscopy appears to recede with younger age. Efficacy of laparoscopy is inferior to open surgery in certain conditions such as pyloromyotomy for Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. Although laparoscopic appendectomy has lesser wound problems than open surgery, the former is associated with more intra-abdominal abscesses.

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