them to lift livers or
other heavy organs.
They're good at
pulling, but not so
much for pushing. The
jaw sizes are also
smaller, so they don't
have the big bite you
sometimes need.
Manufacturers are
addressing this by
using improved mate-
rials, like ceramic, to
increase the instru-
ments' strength,
though they tend to be
more expensive and
have heat conductivity
concerns.
Dr. Novitsky: The tools and supporting technologies are improving,
but they haven't been developed to a point where it's become com-
mon in all facilities. My hospital doesn't offer it, simply because the
hospital demands justification of the cost of acquiring new sets and
we haven't been able to provide that yet. Hopefully, that will change
as technology improves and patient demand increases.
Dr. Reardon: Laparoscopic surgeons with above-average skills, about
50% of the field, could easily move from 5 mm instruments to 3 mm
ones, especially as the tools improve. Right now, we use some that are
1 1 5
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5 | O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T
"The scarring is the most
obvious benefit. Sometimes my
2 mm patients will come back
and I can't even find the scars."
— Patrick Reardon, MD, FACS
