Minimally Invasive Surgery Gaining Ground

As incidences of traumatic injuries, cancers and cardiovascular diseases continue to increase, the impact of surgical intervention on public health systems will continue to grow, says the World Health Organization (WHO).

Surgical interventions account for an estimated 13% of the world’s total disability-adjusted life years.

While surgical procedures are intended to save lives, unsafe surgical care can cause substantial harm.

Surgical site infections are caused by bacteria that get in through incisions made during surgery. They threaten the lives of many patients each year and contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance.

In low and middle-income countries, 11% of patients who undergo surgery are infected in the process. In September 2013, the Iranian Health Ministry stated that 10% to 15% of patients are affected by hospital infections.

Also, a recent study of 960 patients admitted to hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences indicated that the rate of surgical infections among them was about 5%, salamatnews.com reported.

 Other Benefits

“Many health complications that require surgery can today be treated with minimally invasive procedures,” says Shala Chaichian, scientific secretary of the 2nd International Congress of Minimally Invasive Surgeries for treatment of women’s diseases.

The congress will be held January 19-22 at Tehran’s Razi International Conference Center and 20 foreign experts as well as national experts will attend.

“Several live laparoscopy and hysteroscopy surgeries will be performed by prominent foreign and national specialists. Students and specialists interested in participating in the congress should register on www.ismig.ir website,” she said.

Minimally invasive surgery can reduce the probability of getting infected during surgery. Increased overall safety, decreased scarring, faster recovery, and shorter hospital stay are among other benefits of the surgery.

“Previously, we used to make an open abdominal incision to remove fibroids or cancerous tumors in the uterus. In laparoscopic procedures now we make a small incision and insert a laparoscope --a narrow tube fitted with a camera-- into the abdomen and the surgery is performed by using instruments inserted through other small incisions in the abdominal wall,” she pointed out.

Some of the conditions which can be treated using the method include endometriosis, pelvic floor disorders, uterine fibroids and uterine cancers

 Robotic-Assisted Surgery

In robotic procedures instruments are inserted through small incisions similar to those in laparoscopic procedures, but the surgeon controls movement of instruments from a separate console.

“Iran has kept pace with the latest global advances in laparoscopic surgery, however robotic-assisted surgery is still not used widely in the country,” said Seyed Morteza Musavi Naeeni, general surgeon and a professor at Tehran’s Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences.

“Although in developed countries minimally invasive surgeries are only slightly more expensive than traditional surgeries, the cost difference is much higher in Iran, as equipment required for the surgeries are not produced domestically,” he added.