Surgeons rely on specialized tools, each requiring training for proper use, to perform minimally invasive surgery. Common specialized tools include endoscopes and endovascular catheters.
Endoscopes feature a slender tube with a video camera that allows surgeons to examine internal body structures. Endoscopes work with imaging equipment to project real-time video onto screens and provide surgeons with visual guidance.
The endovascular catheter consists of tiny tubes that navigate through blood vessels with help from guide wires and X-ray imaging. Surgeons can perform procedures through these catheters, minimizing the need for large incisions.
Insufflators pass carbon dioxide gas at low pressure into the body cavity through a tube. This helps surgeons inflate the cavity for better visibility and access.
In cases where the surgeon does not want to inflate the body cavity, they can opt for an inflatable balloon. These balloons create the needed space by placing the balloon at the end of a trocar, endoscope, or catheter and pumping gas through the tube to inflate the balloon and create space instead of inflating the body cavity.
