The way in which a procedure is performed can minimize related risks and impact recovery time. Depending on what you are having done, your healthcare provider may perform:

• Open or traditional surgery: The traditional approach of using a single, full-length incision to perform a procedure.
• Minimally invasive (laparoscopic) surgery: In contrast to the one long incision used in open surgery, this newer surgical technique involves several small incisions. This type of surgery usually requires a shorter recovery period than the same procedure using a large incision.
• Robotic surgery: A robot is used to perform surgery, with a surgeon guiding the robot’s steady “hands.” This technique is used most frequently when tiny, undesired movements can change the outcome of the procedure.

• Surgery is often broken down into phases that help group the tasks that need to be completed at a given time. There are three primary phases, which are described in greater detail below, are:

   
  • Preoperative, or pre-op, is the phase that starts with scheduling surgery and lasts until the procedure.
  • The operative phase is the procedure itself, from entering the operating room until leaving.
  • The postoperative, or post-op, phase begins when the surgery is completed and the recovery begins.