Laparoscopic surgery, anyone?

Laparo… what?

It may be some sort of a tongue-twister at first but a thorough understanding of the latest breakthrough in medicine reveals wonders that will forever alter that standard of healthcare in the Philippines.

Dr. Rolando Mendiola, head of the Laparoscopic Surgery Section of the Asian Hospital and Medical Center (AHMC), says that laparoscopy is an alternative to traditional open surgeries, particularly in the abdominal area, that greatly reduces recuperating time, bringing the patient back to his daily routine faster.

"It literary means ‘going though the belly with the use of a scope’," says the esteemed surgeon who has more than two decades of surgical experience.

"Laparoscopic surgery has been the standard of healthcare in the US since 1992," according to Mendiola, a member of the American Society of Abdominal Surgery, the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, and the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons.

"Its growing popularity is mainly due to its advantages over traditional open surgeries," he adds.

The procedure makes extensive use of the laparoscope – a small tube inserted into the belly button with a tiny camera that allows surgery to be performed while viewing a television screen. Most surgeons feel that working from a television monitor allows better viewing with greater detail because of the magnification.

Along with the laparoscope is the insuflator that supplies carbon dioxide to inflate the stomach area to give more room for the surgeons to work on, the light source, an irrigation suction device, a cautery device used to cut ducts from which an organ is attached, and a printer or videotape recorder for documentation, which may also be used for teaching purposes in the future.

Gall bladder removal is the most commonly performed surgical procedure using the laparoscope. The procedure has likewise been introduced in other surgeries such as hernia repair, appendectomy and gastric bypass.

Four tiny marks

Since the procedure is less invasive, it only leaves four tiny marks around the belly button area compared to the six- to nine-inch scar that traditional open surgeries leave behind. Hospital stay is also greatly reduced since patients who undergo laparoscopic surgery can go back home on the very same day, at the least, after undergoing the surgery.

With less incisions, the pain and difficulty in moving about is remarkably reduced and patients can even go back to their daily routine in less than a week.

Mendiola first came across this remarkable surgical procedure back in 1989 when a local gynecologist told him that a new laparoscopic gall bladder procedure was being done in Nashville, Tennessee in the US. He was completely amazed after watching the procedure on videotape and from then on, decided that this would be his line of surgery.

After extensive training and studies in the US, he came back to the Philippines to bring "laparoscopic wonders" to the Filipinos.

Yet, despite the "simplicity" of the process, Mendiola still maintains that his patients are well-informed about the entire procedure. At AHMC, every patient undergoing laparoscopic surgery will be given a brochure detailing the procedure as well as an extensive briefing from the pre-operation to post-operation process.

"We uphold the Patient’s Bill of Rights," says Mendiola, who was recognized as one of the outstanding Filipino physicians in Wisconsin in the United States. "We will give them all the information they want and ought to know and work with them for faster recovery."

(The Asian Hospital and Medical Center is an acute care tertiary hospital now open at the Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. For more information, log on to www.asianhospital.com.)