Posted on 2/4/2016
What if laparoscopic procedures could be done with smaller tools, which would mean smaller incisions and less damage to the patient’s tissues? That question was asked in the early to mid 1990s, and mini-laparoscopy, also known as micro-laparoscopy and needlescopic surgery, was born.
Instruments and tools were launched, but there were some problems. “The instruments had some real technical limitations with flexibility, lack of insulation, poor instrument durability and so forth,” said Dr. Phillip Shadduck, general surgeon at Duke Regional Hospital and North Carolina Specialty Hospital.
The idea was put to the side and other new ideas emerged - sin...