Minimally Invasive Surgery

Urology has been a leader in the trend toward minimizing the invasiveness of surgery, and the author, a urologist, established a Department of Minimally Invasive Surgery in 1986. This article reviews developments to date on minimally invasive procedures in urology, gastroenterology, vascular surgery, orthopedics, thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, otolaryngology, and gynecology and speculates about near-term and long-range future developments. These changes may mandate alterations in surgical training. The surgical profession must prepare itself for an almost total change in professional direction.