Laparoscopic surgery means that ports are placed in the abdomen through small incisions. The abdominal cavity is then inflated with gas. Cameras and working instruments are inserted through these ports and the surgery is performed using a video monitor. The majority of our surgeries involve removing a section of intestine and reattaching the two ends. This requires that one of the incisions be larger to remove the diseased section of bowel. The size of the specimen determines the size of that incision.

The advantage of smaller incisions is less pain after surgery and a quicker recovery. The disadvantage is that surgery can be longer.

There was concern about performing operations for cancer with this approach when it was developed. Our philosophy about laparoscopic surgery is that the operation should be performed with superior quality regardless of approach. There should be no compromise in quality for the sake of completing surgery by inappropriate technique. By this same philosophy, we have extended the boundaries of minimally invasive surgery and have be performing even more advanced laparoscopic techniques such as single-incision laparoscopic surgery and transanal minimally invasive surgery for 2 years.

Today, less than 30% of colon surgery and less than 10% of rectal surgery is performed by laparoscopy. We perform over 85% of our abdominal surgeries using a laparoscopic approach. What this means is a quicker return to life for a greater number of patients.