Limitations of traditional laparoscopic surgery

Laparoscopic technique has certain drawbacks also which are mentioned below:

It has been recognized that doctors expertise to perform surgery is magnificent and offers multitude of diverse functions during open surgery. This function is missing during standard laparoscopic surgery since the abdomen is closed and the procedure is done with long surgical instruments inserted from the outside into the abdomen.

Another limitation is two dimensional image of the laparoscope. The image relayed by the laparoscopic camera that surgeon use for operation as his eyes is a two dimensional image. It has major drawbacks for some procedures because there is poor depth perception with two dimensional images. Withdrawal of internal organs usually happens with traditional laparoscopic surgery. During open surgery, insertion of the hand into the abdomen allows the doctor to move the intestine and other organs away from the place of the surgery. During standard laparoscopic surgery, the hand is not introduced into the abdomen and operation is performed through introducing long thin instruments into the abdomen. Retraction of internal organs is quite problematic for some medical procedures.

Limitation of instruments is also a drawback in traditional operations. The standard instruments in laparoscopic surgery are long thin instruments. These instruments are inadequately suitable for many complicated laparoscopic procedures.

Though laparoscopic surgery is clearly beneficial in terms of patient outcomes, the procedure is more complex from the surgeon's viewpoint when compared to traditional, open surgery. It has been well identified that some surgeries, for example carpal tunnel generally turn out better for the patient when the area can be opened up, allowing the surgeon to view the whole picture of surrounding physiology, to better deal with the issue at hand. In this context, keyhole surgery can be difficult.

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