What is minimally invasive surgery?
Minimally invasive surgery uses specialized instruments and very small incisions to treat many different foot and ankle problems. It's a far more conservative approach to surgery, with the ultimate goal of an easier procedure and faster recovery for you.
How does minimally invasive surgery work?
With minimally invasive surgery, Dr. Guan creates only a few small incisions in your foot or ankle rather than one very long incision. He typically uses a scope, a tube containing a mini camera, to see the inside of the treatment area on a monitor.
Dr. Guan passes special surgical tools through the other small incisions and then performs any necessary surgical corrections while viewing the monitor. After he completes the procedure, Dr. Guan closes the incisions with small stitches.
Which foot and ankle problems require minimally invasive surgery?
Dr. Guan may recommend minimally invasive foot or ankle surgery if he determines that the minimally invasive approach can give you the same (or better) results as traditional surgery would.
Some of the conditions and problems that Dr. Guan may treat using minimally invasive surgery include:
- Traumatic injuries
- Bone fractures
- Clubfoot deformity
- Limb deformity
- Fractures
- Damaged cartilage
- Bone spurs
- Scar tissue
- Severe sprains (ligament tears)
- Loose bodies in your ankle joint (fragments of cartilage or bone)
- Ankle instability
- Ankle impingement
- Joint infections
- Joint lining inflammation (synovitis)
A number of other foot and ankle conditions may also respond to minimally invasive surgery instead of traditional open surgery.
What are the advantages of minimally invasive surgery vs. open surgery?
Minimally invasive foot and ankle surgery has quite a few advantages over the traditional approach, which uses one large incision. These benefits include:
- Minimal tissue damage
- Small scars
- Less pain
- Less bleeding
- Faster healing
- Reduced risk of postoperative problems like infections
In most cases, minimally invasive foot and ankle surgery is a same-day procedure, allowing you to avoid an uncomfortable and inconvenient hospital stay.
Bay Area Foot and Ankle Medical Clinic surgeon Dr. Guan is a fellowship-trained surgeon with extensive experience in minimally invasive foot and ankle surgery like ankle arthroscopy, so he's the ideal specialist to perform your procedure.
Learn more about the surgical process by calling the office or clicking the online link to set up your consultation.
