What self-care is
necessary after returning home?
- Leave the adhesive bandage or dressing on the incision
for five days. During that period, keep the incision area
dry.
- Avoid lifting heavy weights.
How long will it
take for full recovery?
The following is a normal timetable for recovery from minimally
invasive surgery on the abdomen
- The groggy feeling from the anesthetic disappears the
day after surgery and the individual is fully alert once
again.
- Any pain in the shoulders or neck area usually goes
away after a few days.
- Soreness in the incisions disappears within a few days
and the incisions heal after about five days.
- The bloated feeling after abdominal or pelvic laparoscopy
goes away within a few days.
When can I go back
to work?
ADepending on the procedure most people feel well enough
to return to work or normal daily activities two to three
days after laparoscopy, although some people may need a
week of rest.
I'm confused about
the medical terms for Minimally Invasive Surgery and the
traditional open operations. Please elaborate.
Laparoscopy means surgery on the abdominal area using a
Laparoscope. This is Minimally Invasive, or Band-Aid Surgery,
which uses small incisions. Laparotomy is the term for the
traditional open surgery on the abdomen, which involves
a larger incision. There are many different terms used for
specific types of minimally invasive surgery and the instruments
used.
Why do people recover
faster from minimally invasive surgery?
Mainly because of the small incisions. The large incision
used in many traditional operations causes more damage to
layers of skin, muscle, and other body tissue. It takes
a long time for the body to repair that damage- usually
about six weeks. During that period, patients often have
to restrict their normal activities so that the incision
heals properly. The incision also causes a good deal of
discomfort that makes patients want to take it easy for
several weeks.
The doctor wants
to do a diagnostic laparoscopy to find out why I'm having
pelvic pain. She says the surgery will take less than an
hour, and I can go home right away and back to work the
next day. If it is really that simple, why do I have to
bring someone to the surgery center to drive me home?
Because of the effects of general anesthesia, you may feel
groggy for a few hours after you awake and you may not be
in complete control of the reflexes needed to drive a vehicle.
It is safer to have someone else who is fully alert do the
driving.
What can be done
during Laparoscopy?
Once the abdominal cavity and the reproductive organs have
been viewed, it is possible to operate thanks to thin surgery
instruments which are inserted through 2 or 3 very small
incisions (few millimetres long). The major benefits of
this surgical procedure are: a milder post-operative pain,
a shorter hospitalization and a smaller incision, with better
aesthetic results compared with the conventional surgery.
When is Operative
Laparoscopy better indicated?
Operative laparoscopy is mainly indicated to treat diseases
of the adnexae (i.e. fallopian tubes and ovaries), therefore
including: ectopic pregnancies in a fallopian tube, ovarian
cysts of different type, such as endometriosic, liquid or
dermoid cysts, etc. Other conditions include: treatment
of endometriosis (with coagulation of pelvic focus), treatment
of adhesions and possibility to perform tubal sterilisation
procedures.
What other procedures
can be achieved with Minimally Invasive Surgery?
Hysterectomies have been done with Minimally Invasive Surgery.
Other operations include the Birch Colposuspension for stress
incontinence, uterine suspension, tuboplasty and tubal reanastomosis,
pelvic tumor surgery to name a few.
How long
does it take to do an operation with Minimally Invasive
Surgery?
With carefully chosen cases, it should not take more than
two hours to complete a procedure. Sometimes, however, it
may be necessary to proceed to laparotomy if complications
arise. Every patient should bear this in mind.
What is
the approximate length of inpatient stay?
Generally, the duration of inpatient stay is shorter after
Minimally Invasive Surgery although there is no hard and
fast rule. Almost all patients need no catheterization as
they can pass urine the same day. Most patients ambulate
and can take feeds by the end of the day. An overnight stay
or two is all that is required for most patients; however
some may even be able to go back the same day.
