Maybe it was the newsletter we received from our local hospital, or maybe it’s that a colleague’s stepmother is having surgery this week, but we found ourselves talking about minimally invasive surgeries versus traditional (or “open”) surgeries.  When you know something about such an important topic as health care, it is hard not to share your knowledge when you think it might benefit someone you care about, or someone that they care about.  So, naturally, our water-cooler conversation was focused around making sure that our collegue’s stepmother was getting the least invasive surgery possible.

Benefits of Minimally Invasive Surgeries:

• less pain;
• smaller scars;
• faster recovery;
• shorter hospital stays (even outpatient);
• reduced chances of complications (and infections);
• more satisfied patients; and
• faster return to daily routines.

According to the newsletter (from Providence):

the use of tiny cameras and high-definition monitors gives the surgeons much better visualization when performing minimally invasive, or “laparoscopic,” surgeries.  This can lead to greater precision and less damage to tissue.

Although our water-cooler conversations this week have been primarily focused on breast cancer, Providence says that it offers minimally invasive surgeries for a variety of health related issues, including but not limited to gallbladder removal, hernia repair, appendectomies, weight-loss, gynecological issues, prostate, orthopedic, and even heart surgeries.

Towards the end of the article, they offered 5 questions to ask your surgeon before agreeing to any surgery:

1. What are the risks for my surgery, and am I a good candidate for it?

2. Can this procedure be performed laparoscopically?

3. What kind of recovery period can I expect?

4. How many of these surgeries have you performed, and what are your results?

5. Arethere proven advantages to the minimally invasive option, or could an open approach be the best choice for me?

While we hope you never have to refer to these questions, if you do find the need, we hope you find them as helpful as our colleague did.

Please share with us in the comments section below or on our facebook page.

If you want to make sure that your insurance covers both minimally invasive surgeries as well as traditional, please complete the form below and one of our experts will be in touch right away!