Article: Minimally invasive procedure

A minimally invasive medical procedure is defined as one that is carried out by entering the body through the skin or through a body cavity or anatomical opening, but with the smallest damage possible to these structures. According to this classification, the two other kinds of procedures are: invasive and non-invasive.

For example, minimally invasive surgery may be performed in this way, thus resulting in less operative trauma for the patient. It is also less expensive, reduces hospitalization time, causes less pain and scarring, and reduces the incidence of complications related to the surgical trauma, speeding the recovery. Extensive scientific evidence has been gathered on these benefits (e.g. [1]). However, minimally invasive is not synonymous with minor surgery, because this approach is presently used for performing complex operations such as heart surgery.

Due to these advantages, there is currently a powerful trend towards the development and adoption of more minimally invasive procedures.

Minimally-invasive angiography showing the vascular catheter and a stent inserted into an artery

Special medical equipment may be used, such as fiber optic cables, miniature video cameras and special surgical instruments handled via tubes inserted into the body through small openings in its surface. The images of the interior of the body are transmitted to an external video monitor and the surgeon has the possibility of making a diagnosis, visually identifying internal features and acting surgically on them.

Many medical procedures are considered minimally invasive, such as hypodermic injection, air-pressure injection, subdermal implants, endoscopy, percutaneous surgery, laparoscopic surgery, arthroscopic surgery, cryosurgery, microsurgery, keyhole surgery, endovascular surgery (such as angioplasty), coronary catheterization, permanent spinal and brain electrodes, stereotactic surgery, radioactivity-based medical imaging methods, such as gamma camera, Positron emission tomography and SPECT (single photon emission tomography). Related procedures are image-guided surgery, robotic surgery and interventional radiology.