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L A P A R A S C O P E S
COMPARISON SHOPPING
Articulation Is Worth the Investment
TOP TOOL Most general surgeons work with angles, making articulating laparoscopes invaluable additions to their arsenal.
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The one advantage non-articulating laparoscopes have over articulating models: rigidity. I can use conventional scopes as a manipulator during surgery. I can use it to move structures and I can use it for support.
I can't do that with an articulating scope, because it isn't rigid. It's purely for visualization. But that's it — there are no other disadvantages. Everything you can do with straight sticks, you can do with articulating scopes, plus more.
Of course, some surgeons are trained on zero-
degree angles; they're used to looking straight down at the surgical site. But most laparoscopic general surgeons are working with angles. The more complex the procedure, the more you realize the advantages that come with articulation.
Yes, there's a learning curve with articulating scopes, but it isn't massive. If you've been using laparoscopic equipment for a while, you understand the mirror image nature of laparoscopic surgery — that is, if you want to look up, you push the scope down, and so forth. It's the same thing with the articulating scopes. You just need to know you're going to need to pull the trigger back to go up and push the trigger forward to go down. Once you get that, the learning curve isn't very daunting.
The technology is pretty remarkable, and it took a while for these new scopes to hit the market, because it was a challenge to be able to use fiber-optics and not crack the fiber. They're a little more delicate than traditional scopes and of course, they're more expensive, but I've been using them for a year now and I haven't had any problems or complications. To me they're absolutely worth the investment.
— Kevin Audlin, MD
