The Importance of Cables in Minimally-Invasive Surgeries

Today, cables play an essential part in the medical industry, particularly involving minimally invasive surgeries. Without these cables, these surgeries would not be possible and would be replaced with more invasive, riskier, and more stressful options in order to get the patient the medical help they need. Cable manufacturers have since further developed these cables to be even more concise and faultless for this job particularly. Below are a few types of medical procedures and surgeries in which medical cables play an important role.

Laparoscopy

Laparoscopy is a conventional, minimally invasive surgery that uses a very long, thin, lighted tube to check a patient for possible problems that are otherwise not visible. To perform this surgery, a surgeon makes a tiny incision and inserts the tube into the stomach. They can get an “inside” look at the abdominal organs or female pelvic organs and perform a biopsy if needed. Laparoscopy is done to check the stomach and organs for tumors, fibroids, cysts, various infections, and more. Not only is this surgery minimally invasive, but it is often less stressful on the patient and includes fewer possible complications compared to a more invasive option.

Endoscopy

Read: Minimally Invasive Treatment Options for Common Cosmetic Surgery Procedures

An endoscope is very similar to the tool used in Laparoscopy except that this tool is used to view internal organs. This cable uses a small video camera at the end. It can be moved through the patient’s body or organ and allow for the doctor to see a close-up look of the person’s passageways and even to perform surgery, called Keyhole surgery. This surgery allows patients to leave the same day and resume regular habits only a few hours later, with the only side effect being a sore throat from the endoscope as well as sleepiness and confusion from the sedation.

Single Port Access (SPA)

This procedure is done through a small incision, typically through the patient’s navel. It is used for various medical reasons, including the removal of the gallbladder or a kidney, as well as hernia repair, gastric bypass, and hysterectomies, and more. The surgeon uses a laparoscope with a video camera attached to see what they are doing inside the patient.

Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopy (NOTES)

This surgery is considered a “scarless” operation where a tube is inserted through a natural opening in the body, and the incision is made internally, therefore avoiding any scars on the outside of the body. In simpler terms, the surgeon performs the surgery internally using the video camera and tube with a variety of tools.

Cables allow for certain surgeries to be more comfortable on the patient, requiring only small incisions, if any, and include faster recovery time, less pain or complications, and less stress on the patient both physically and mentally. Cable manufacturers have developed mini cables in many different sizes, with a variety of coated or uncoated, lined, or unlined cables. Without these cables, such minimally invasive surgeries and procedures would not be possible.