Medscape GI Revisits Endoscopic Surgical Technology
Medscape GI Revisits Endoscopic Surgical Technology
The earliest known treatise on surgery (specifically, open surgical interventions), the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, dates back to the 17th century BC. It is interesting to note that this manuscript is organized into a series of case presentations, classified by outcome (favorable, unfavorable, uncertain), rather than as guidelines or recipes for surgical techniques. The precise origin of minimally invasive surgical techniques, however, is not known, but the first description of endoscopy may be traced to Hippocrates in the 4th to 5th century BC, Greece. Therefore, the interest among individuals whom we might identify as physicians in today's world to look into the "internal organs" of the body has existed since the early days of medicine.
The term "laparothorakoskopie" was first used by Stockholm's Jacobaeus in 1910, and it was Bertram M. Berheim of Johns Hopkins who performed the first laparoscopy in the United States in 1911. Indeed, innovations and refinements in technology continued to evolve, including the post-World War II development of the rods-lens system and fiber optics by Hopkins, the development of the automatic insufflator by Semm in the 1960s, and the introduction of the first solid-state camera in 1982. Perhaps the culmination of these technologic milestones was best marked by the performance of the first video-laparoscopic cholecystectomy by Mouret in Lyons, France, in 1987. Thus, although the concept of "through-a-scope surgery" may date back to the late 1800s, it was the technologic advances of the 20th century that made laparoscopic -- and indeed minimally invasive -- surgery a reality.
What is the point of retracing these key steps in the advancement of surgical science? Hopefully, this brief discussion will help illuminate the degree to which these advancements were focused on minimizing the invasiveness of surgical procedures. Thus, collectively, improvements in endoscopic technologies, video imaging, and instrumentation have led us to recognize the important place that minimally invasive and endoscopic surgical techniques hold in today's medical practice.
Within this setting, we may now turn to Medscape Gastroenterology's coverage of the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) 2004 Annual Scientific Session and Postgraduate Course, held in Denver, Colorado, from March 31 to April 3. SAGES stands as a leading professional society representing the more than 4000 physicians who use endoscopy and laparoscopy as an integral part of their practice. As Jo Buyske, MD, Chief of Surgery and Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery, Presbyterian Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Program Chair for SAGES 2004, further affirms, SAGES serves as a forum for "developing technology, maturing techniques, and gold-standard care in the arena of minimally invasive surgery and endoscopy."
In its ongoing commitment to provide convenient access to the most emergent and timely information relevant to clinical practice, Medscape Gastroenterology is once again pleased to bring its audience coverage of key proceedings presented during the 2004 SAGES meeting. I invite you to visit our program coverage of this meeting, which includes clinically focused news coverage; a prefatory piece by Dr. Buyske, providing context from her perspective as SAGES 2004 Program Chair; and an in-depth clinical overview on advances in esophageal surgery, coauthored by Carlos Pellegrini, MD, and Brant Oelschlager, MD.
Thank you for allowing me to spend my time with you this month by revisiting the evolution and importance of endoscopic technology and minimally invasive techniques in clinical practice, as evidenced by our online coverage of the 2004 SAGES meeting. I invite and encourage your continued feedback as we move forward with our mission to provide our audience with the most topical and relevant information in clinical gastroenterology. You may contact me directly at gastroeditor@webmd.net. (If your concern is technical, however, please contact our customer support staff at medscapecustomersupport@webmd.net.)
The earliest known treatise on surgery (specifically, open surgical interventions), the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, dates back to the 17th century BC. It is interesting to note that this manuscript is organized into a series of case presentations, classified by outcome (favorable, unfavorable, uncertain), rather than as guidelines or recipes for surgical techniques. The precise origin of minimally invasive surgical techniques, however, is not known, but the first description of endoscopy may be traced to Hippocrates in the 4th to 5th century BC, Greece. Therefore, the interest among individuals whom we might identify as physicians in today's world to look into the "internal organs" of the body has existed since the early days of medicine.
The term "laparothorakoskopie" was first used by Stockholm's Jacobaeus in 1910, and it was Bertram M. Berheim of Johns Hopkins who performed the first laparoscopy in the United States in 1911. Indeed, innovations and refinements in technology continued to evolve, including the post-World War II development of the rods-lens system and fiber optics by Hopkins, the development of the automatic insufflator by Semm in the 1960s, and the introduction of the first solid-state camera in 1982. Perhaps the culmination of these technologic milestones was best marked by the performance of the first video-laparoscopic cholecystectomy by Mouret in Lyons, France, in 1987. Thus, although the concept of "through-a-scope surgery" may date back to the late 1800s, it was the technologic advances of the 20th century that made laparoscopic -- and indeed minimally invasive -- surgery a reality.
What is the point of retracing these key steps in the advancement of surgical science? Hopefully, this brief discussion will help illuminate the degree to which these advancements were focused on minimizing the invasiveness of surgical procedures. Thus, collectively, improvements in endoscopic technologies, video imaging, and instrumentation have led us to recognize the important place that minimally invasive and endoscopic surgical techniques hold in today's medical practice.
Within this setting, we may now turn to Medscape Gastroenterology's coverage of the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) 2004 Annual Scientific Session and Postgraduate Course, held in Denver, Colorado, from March 31 to April 3. SAGES stands as a leading professional society representing the more than 4000 physicians who use endoscopy and laparoscopy as an integral part of their practice. As Jo Buyske, MD, Chief of Surgery and Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery, Presbyterian Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Program Chair for SAGES 2004, further affirms, SAGES serves as a forum for "developing technology, maturing techniques, and gold-standard care in the arena of minimally invasive surgery and endoscopy."
In its ongoing commitment to provide convenient access to the most emergent and timely information relevant to clinical practice, Medscape Gastroenterology is once again pleased to bring its audience coverage of key proceedings presented during the 2004 SAGES meeting. I invite you to visit our program coverage of this meeting, which includes clinically focused news coverage; a prefatory piece by Dr. Buyske, providing context from her perspective as SAGES 2004 Program Chair; and an in-depth clinical overview on advances in esophageal surgery, coauthored by Carlos Pellegrini, MD, and Brant Oelschlager, MD.
Thank you for allowing me to spend my time with you this month by revisiting the evolution and importance of endoscopic technology and minimally invasive techniques in clinical practice, as evidenced by our online coverage of the 2004 SAGES meeting. I invite and encourage your continued feedback as we move forward with our mission to provide our audience with the most topical and relevant information in clinical gastroenterology. You may contact me directly at gastroeditor@webmd.net. (If your concern is technical, however, please contact our customer support staff at medscapecustomersupport@webmd.net.)
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