Advanced Technologies and the Future of Medicine and Surgery

Technology has become a major driver of the future direction of healthcare and surgery. Likewise, the speed of change has accelerated beyond comprehension, with a number of revolutions occurring during a surgeon's career. Being an agent of change or rapidly adapting to change has become the hallmark of the gifted surgeon. The fundamental challenges to a future surgeon are addressed from a technological viewpoint, with emphasis on the impact upon healthcare.

Natural Orifice Surgery:Current Applications and Future Perspectives / 中国微创外科杂志

The possibility to operate into the abdominal cavity by means of flexible endoscopes introduced through natural orifices represents a major step forward in the continuous research for minimal invasive treatment attaining the unimaginable goal of no scar surgery.After several years of investigation in experimental settings,natural orifice surgery is becoming a valuable therapeutic option both as totally transluminal endoscopic approach or with the support of minimal transabdominal assistance.The promising operative results and the great interest determined among the patients always looking for effective treatment associated with less bodily trauma,postoperative pain and faster recovery,are pushing the development of dedicated technological solutions that will make natural orifice-no scar surgery more easy and reproducible to perform and applicable also to more advanced diseases.Natural orifice surgery has the potential to abolish the historical association of surgery to that of scar and pain representing a very appealing surgical option for the patients highly respectful of their body and psychological integrity.[