BACKGROUND Spinal surgery is one of the newest frontiers of videolaparoscopic surgery, but requires the cooperative efforts of both the spinal surgeon and the laparoscopic general surgeon. DATA BASE We report our experience with 76 cases of laparoscopic spinal surgery, using both a transperitoneal and a retroperitoneal approach. Technical details and complications are described in detail. C...

Tailgut cysts are benign retrorectal embryological remnants, often found incidentally or when evaluating a patient for pelvic symptoms. Transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS) offers patients a low morbidity surgical approach for resection of a variety of low rectal lesions. This is a case report of resection of a tailgut cyst using TAMIS, including images and description of the steps of t...

Dear Editor, Carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the most common problems faced by people worldwide. It remains a concern for the developed world; although many treatment modalities are available, endoscopic release of the tight compartment is one such treatment modality (1, 2). As in all surgical fields, minimally invasive procedures are preferred over open surgical procedures wherever possible (...

Recently, demand for minimally invasive surgery has increased greatly. As a result, robot-assisted techniques have gained in popularity, because they overcome several of the shortcomings of conventional laparoscopic techniques. However, robotic surgery may require innovations with regard to patient positioning and the overall arrangement of operative equipment and personnel, which may go agains...

1. SUMMARY Surgery simulation technology has made strong progress in recent years. This has come both from development of new basic technology, and from actual implementation of this technology in practical surgery simulation systems. This paper provides an overview of the basic issues in surgery simulation development. Issues such as procedural versus skills simulators, and the relationship be...

Technology is constantly changing, and it is important for perioperative nurses to stay current on new products and technologies in the perioperative setting. AORN's "Recommended practices for electrosurgery" addresses safety standards that all perioperative personnel should follow to minimize risks to both patients and staff members during the use of electrosurgical devices. Recommendations in...

Challenges facing surgical practice in the immediate future will not only be in the fields of clinical and operative surgical techniques, but will also involve a new complexity of clinical, para-clinical and economical issues. The impact of casemix, clinical carepaths, evidence-based medicine, high-technological advances, minimally invasive surgery, teleconferencing, robotic surgery, etc will t...

Off-pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) is still a technically difficult procedure. The mechanical stabilizers used for local suppression of the heart excursion have been demonstrated to exhibit significant residual motion, which could lead to a lack of accuracy in performing the surgical task, particularly when using a minimally invasive surgery (MIS) approach. We therefore propose a n...

This article discusses the potential benefits and challenges of minimally invasive surgery for infants and small children, and discusses why pediatric minimally invasive surgery is not yet the surgical default or standard of care. Minimally invasive methods offer advantages such as smaller incisions, decreased risk of infection, greater surgical precision, decreased cost of care, reduced length...