Laparoscopic surgery, also called minimally invasive surgery (MIS), bandaid surgery, or keyhole surgery, is a modern surgical technique. There are a number of advantages to the patient with laparoscopic surgery versus the more common, open procedure. These include reduced pain due to smaller incisions, reduced hemorrhaging and shorter recovery time. The key element is the use of a laparoscope, a long fiber optic cable system which allows viewing of the affected area by snaking the cable from a more distant, but more easily accessible location.
Laparoscopic surgery includes operations within the abdominal or pelvic cavities, whereas keyhole surgery performed on the thoracic or chest cavity is called thoracoscopic surgery. Specific surgical instruments used in laparoscopic surgery include forceps, scissors, probes, dissectors, hooks, and retractors. Laparoscopic and thoracoscopic surgery belong to the broader field of endoscopy.
A thyroidectomy is an operation that involves the surgical removal of all or part of the thyroid gland. General, Endocrine or Head and Neck Surgeons often perform a thyroidectomy when a patient has thyroid cancer or some other condition of the thyroid gland (such as hyperthyroidism) or goiter. Other indications for surgery include cosmetic (very enlarged thyroid), or symptomatic obstruction (causing difficulties in swallowing or breathing).
Thyroidectomy is a common surgical procedure that has several potential complications or sequelae including temporary or permanent change in voice, temporary or permanently low calcium, need for lifelong thyroid hormone replacement, bleeding, infection, and the remote possibility of airway obstruction due to bilateral vocal cord paralysis. Complications are uncommon when the procedure is performed by an experienced surgeon.
Varicose veins are those that have become enlarged, twisted or lengthened. The term commonly refers to the veins on the leg, although the condition may occur elsewhere.
Veins contain pairs of leaflet valves to prevent blood from flowing backwards (retrograde flow or venous reflux). To return blood to the heart, against the effect of gravity, leg muscles pump the veins, forcing blood to move upwards. When veins become varicose (enlarged), the leaflets of the valves no longer meet properly, allowing the blood to flow backwards and the veins to enlarge even more. Varicose veins are most common in the superficial veins of the legs, subject to high pressure when standing. Besides being a cosmetic problem, varicose veins can be painful, especially when standing. Severe long-standing varicose veins can lead to leg swelling, venous eczema, skin thickening (lipodermatosclerosis) and ulceration.
A hydrocele is an accumulation of serous fluid in a body cavity. A hydrocele testis is the accumulation of fluids around a testicle. It is often caused by fluid secreted from a remnant piece of peritoneum wrapped around the testicle, called the tunica vaginalis. Provided there is no hernia present, hydroceles below the age of 1 year usually resolve spontaneously. Primary hydroceles may develop in adulthood, particularly in the elderly and in hot countries, by the slow accumulation of serous fluid, presumably caused by impaired reabsorption, which appears to be the explanation for most primary hydroceles, although the reason remains obscure. A hydrocele can also be the result of a plugged inguinal lymphatic system caused by repeated, chronic infection of Wuchereria bancrofti or Brugia malayi, two mosquito-borne parasites of Africa and Southeast Asia, respectively. As such, the condition would be a part of more diffuse sequelae commonly referred to as elephantiasis, which also affects the lymphatic system in other parts of the body.