Endoscopic Surgery
Stuff@night Magazine - May 15, 2002

Children are frequently told of the many ways in which they are wasting their time and “rotting” their brains. The “boob tube” (television, of course) is a prime example. And, since the introduction of PONG around 1971, video games are another. Video games are empty entertainment and a waste of time that could be spent on more educational pursuits. That is, unless you want to be a plastic surgeon!

Cosmetic surgeons want to help you look better. And, we want you to look better as quickly and easily as possible. The problem is that all surgical procedures have risks, leave scars, and may create bruising and swelling that take time to resolve. So, we are constantly seeking new techniques to help people recover from their surgery quickly, and with limited scarring.

One of these new techniques is known as “endoscopic surgery”. An endoscope is a thin telescope (like a drinking straw) which is attached to a powerful flashlight. One end of the scope shines a bright light, and the other end is attached to a video camera displayed on a television screen. So, the deepest and darkest reaches of a person’s body can now be visualized with only a tiny (1/2 inch) incision to allow for introduction of the endoscope! Of course, small incision = small scar = happier patient and doctor!

Once I can see the area of interest, I still need to be able to operate there. So one (or a few) additional very small incisions are made through which specially designed surgical instruments can be passed to the area visualized by the endoscope. Surgery can then proceed, only your surgeon never actually “sees” the area manipulated – it is all watched on TV! Using your hands to manipulate things you see on TV? Sounds like a video game to me.

Endoscopic surgery allows for significantly smaller incisions, decreased swelling and bruising, and may reduce the risk of numbness or other types of nerve damage (you can see all the little nerves bigger than life on the TV). However, endoscopic surgery doesn’t make sense for all procedures; there’s no point using a telescope and camera if you are operating on the skin, for example.

Of course, several procedures are best done with endoscopic techniques. Forehead (brow) lift is one. Many people who look tired or angry (but don’t feel tired or angry) have an aging or sagging forehead. The eyebrows fall and horizontal wrinkles appear. The time-honored correcting procedure involves making a long incision (almost ear-to-ear) across the top of the head and then pulling the forehead up. Using an endoscope the procedure can be done (on TV) through just a few ½ inch incisions! (And you’ll have less swelling, bruising, numbness and can go home faster!) By the way, “just a few incisions" means as few as 2 and up to 6 depending upon each person’s individual needs.

Endoscopic techniques can also be used for breast augmentation, so the whole procedure can be done through a small incision in the underarm or around the navel. Sometimes a tummy tuck can be done with the endoscope to minimize the resulting incision. Remember however, that if you have lots of excess skin the endoscope may not help. And, believe it or not, in some cases a mini-facelift can be done with the endoscope! Recovery from this type of mini-face lift is much faster than from a traditional facelift.

So, technology is helping to make surgery more like playing a complex video game. And, as video games have been around for more than 30 years now there’s a good chance your surgeon has had some experience with them. Now, if we could only find some use for all that Gilligan’s Island trivia…