Laparo-Endoscopic Single-Site Surgery: The LESS Approach

LESS surgery is a further advancement of standard laparoscopy – a technique that brought mankind even closer to achieving the vision of "non-invasive” and “scar-free" treatment. Now, laparoscopy has evolved into LESS surgery. LESS surgery reduces the invasiveness of laparoscopic procedures further by allowing surgery to be performed through just one small incision.
Standard laparoscopy requires several small cuts (< 1 cm) or entry points. With the LESS procedure, the surgeon can perform the entire operation through one single incision. This way, the invasiveness of laparoscopic surgery can be reduced even further and the cosmetic result improved. If the incision is made in the umbilicus (bellybutton), the scar is usually hidden and nearly invisible.

It was not until the invention of the special access devices (called multi-channel ports) like the TriPort from Olympus, that LESS surgery first became feasible. Now with the use of these ports, the surgeon is able to insert the required surgical instruments simultaneously into the abdomen through the same point of access, thereby avoiding further cuts. The port is inserted through a small incision that is just about 1 to 2.5 cm long. If possible, the incision is made in the umbilicus so that the residual scar will be hidden and a virtually scar-free result is achieved.
Whilst this access to the abdomen is unique, the actual surgical procedure that takes place inside the body is similar to that of conventional, well-proven laparoscopy.
Thus, LESS surgery is relatively easy for experienced laparoscopists to adopt and can be applied to some of the procedures where laparoscopy is currently used on a routine day-to-day basis. To date, LESS surgery has been employed successfully in the fields of general surgery, urology and gynaecology and offers a promising perspective for many other applications. (See LESS Procedures.)

Although the era of LESS surgery is still at the beginning of its development, LESS surgery has already been performed in many applications. Please keep in mind that not every surgical procedure can be performed with LESS surgery. The treating physician will judge on a case-to-case basis if the planned intervention can be performed with LESS surgery.

If you too have to undergo surgery, ask your treating physician if the LESS procedure may also be suitable in your case.