The term non-invasive surgery is used to describe procedures that don’t require cutting into or using instruments to penetrate the patient’s body. For example, bypass surgery is one type of invasive surgery while a laser mole removal is an example of non-invasive surgery. Often, this type of surgery is used for procedures related to the skin. For example, laser surgery may be used as a treatment for someone who wishes to have wrinkles removed and look years younger. It can also be used to give someone better eyesight, and it may even be used to help reduce the size of certain types of tumors.
There are important advantages of having non-invasive surgery, and one of them is reduced risk. A person takes on much more risk when his body is being punctured and cut than without incisions. For example, with non-invasive surgery, he doesn't have to worry about losing too much blood. The opposite is true with invasive surgery. Though blood loss is often minimal, the potential exist for extreme blood loss requiring blood transfusions, especially in the case of very long procedures.
There is also less risk of wound infection, as there is no insertion of foreign bodies into the patient’s body, and there are no open wounds in which bacteria can easily form. Patients may even be at less risk of hospital–borne infections, as a hospital stay isn’t necessary after many procedures; some patients can go home in just minutes or hours instead of days or weeks. Non-invasive surgery can even provide the patient with a faster recovery time and less pain while healing. There may also be less risk of the development of scar tissue.
Though it is true that there is less risk of infection when a person has non-invasive surgery, that doesn’t mean no risk at all; there is some chance of developing an infection after non-invasive surgery. However, the risk is typically much lower than with invasive procedures. Additionally, there is anesthesia to consider. Local anesthesia is used for many types of non-invasive procedures and some may be performed with no anesthesia at all. However, it may be necessary to use general anesthesia with some procedures, which carries its own risks, such as serious breathing difficulties and problems with heart rhythms.
By Nicole Madison