If you’re considering back surgery, you may have heard of ambulatory surgery centers that perform minimally invasive, or endoscopic, surgeries. Endoscopic surgery is an operation performed using an endoscope, which is basically a small camera that is attaches to the end of a tube. During an endoscopic procedure, a doctor makes a small incision near the area being operated on and inserts the endoscope to the point of the procedure. Once the camera is on target, it projects the area onto a large monitor, which the surgeon uses to see the procedure. The surgeon can then carefully maneuver their instruments through the tubes and perform the surgery while watching the monitor. As opposed to traditional surgery, endoscopic procedures offer a wide array of benefits for patients.

Shorter Recovery Times

The incision needed for an endoscopic procedure is usually somewhere around an inch to an inch and a half. As opposed to a larger incision that would be necessary for a procedure like open back surgery, this incision only needs a few days or a little over a week to heal. Plus, a procedure such as open back surgery would require the surgeon to cut through a number of muscles, which take a long time to heal. Months of physical therapy can go into helping those muscles recover from the trauma. However, endoscopic surgery avoids this problem by sliding the endoscope through the body to do as little damage as possible. This means that the patient’s recovery will be more focused on the actual procedure itself, rather than the damages that needed to be done just to get to the operation site. By decreasing the shock to the body, endoscopic surgery drastically reduces recovery times.

Less Chance of Infection

Another major advantage to the smaller incision and versatile abilities of the endoscope is that there is less of a chance for infection after the surgery is complete. Sometimes, infections in the skin and muscles that result from surgeries can be more threatening and painful than the reason for the surgery in the first place. Set backs from infections can be discouraging, and may even cost a patient more money for extra procedures. With endoscopic surgery, the chances of infection are drastically reduced since the patient has less healing to do.

Reduced Scarring

Not only is scarring hard for patients to look at, but scar tissue can be a major obstacle for patients for years into the future. Scar tissue from major surgeries can move throughout the body and cause problems with important organs that were never even related to the initial surgery. Because of the fact that endoscopic surgery causes less damage to the body, there is less scar tissue to be dealt with once the incision and wound have healed. Plus, the patient will have increased self-esteem, which can improve their overall outlook on the procedure and the ensuing recovery process.

Mostly Outpatient Procedures

Sitting in an uncomfortable hospital bed after surgery can be depressing and further impair a patient’s spirits. Plus, hospital stays can be extremely expensive, even if they are only for a few nights. Almost 100% of endoscopic procedures are performed in ambulatory, or outpatient, facilities. This means the patient does not have to sit through long hospital stays and often times will be able to walk out of the facility under their own power. Plus, most ambulatory surgery centers are privately funded and provide state-of-the-art equipment for patients. Not only does this benefit a patient from a medical perspective, but it may also boost their confidence as well.

Peg Smith is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Smith is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to endoscopic surgery.

Peg Smith is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Smith is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to endoscopic surgery. http://www.lsiscottsdale.com/

Author Bio: Peg Smith is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Smith is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to endoscopic surgery.

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: Endoscopic surgery