Asian Hospital holds symposium on minimally invasive surgery

MANILA, Philippines - The Asian Hospital and Medical Center is holding a two-day symposium on updates on minimally invasive surgery that started yesterday.

Minimally invasive surgery is performed through very small incisions in the abdomen, using a pencil-thin instrument to give the surgeon a clear view, on a television monitor, of the insides of the abdominal cavity.

As it entails very small incisions, minimally invasive surgery reduces post-operative complications, thus promoting faster recovery and shorter hospital stay for patients. With its great advantages, minimally invasive surgery is fast becoming the preferred technique for most surgical procedures today.

Asian Hospital invited medical practitioners, nurses and medical students to attend the symposium, which will let them in on the latest studies and techniques in minimally invasive surgery. The symposium features foreign experts from the University Medical Center in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, as well as top medical practitioners from the Asian Hospital, who will share their expertise on minimally invasive surgical techniques.

Advancements in instrumentation and equipment in minimally invasive hepatobiliary surgery; indications and techniques in laparoscopic cholecystectomy, ioc, common bile duct exploration; complications of laparoscopic cholecystectomy; and indications and techniques in laparoscopic liver resection were discussed on the first day. The minimally invasive surgery experience in University Medical Center in Vietnam and the Asian Hospital were tackled by speakers from the two hospitals.

Today, speakers will focus on minimally invasive colorectal surgery; current evidence on laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer; advancements, indications, and techniques in laparoscopic colorectal surgery; and complications of laparoscopic colorectal procedures.

To provide vivid descriptions of the techniques, surgical demonstrations with live feed from the newly constructed Minimally Invasive Surgery Integrated Operating Room Suite will be conducted during the two-day symposium. Dr. Miguel Mendoza, Minimally Invasive Surgery Section Head of Asian Hospital and Medical Center, says “one of the highlights of this symposium is a live demo of laparoscopic hepatobiliary and colorectal procedures in the Integrated OR Suite, which is the first of its kind in the Philippines.”