Traditional, "open" surgery historically meant creating an opening in the body large enough for the surgeon to perform an operation using surgical instruments and his or her gloved hands. This began to change in the 1980s and 1990s with the refinement of endoscopic and laparoscopic technologies and the emergence of new surgical techniques. Using miniaturized surgical instruments, fiber optic technology, and video monitoring equipment, doctors could "enter" the body through small, "keyhole" incisions and perform procedures with far less disturbance of surrounding structures.

The impact was dramatic. Many operations that once required large incisions, lengthy hospital stays, and long recovery periods were largely replaced by "minimally invasive" surgeries performed with the laparoscope. This happened because surgeons were able to achieve the same successful outcomes for patients who had laparoscopic surgery as compared to those treated with traditional techniques. One by one, surgical procedures used for gallbladder removal, appendix removal, hernia repair, and many other conditions began to change.

Physicians at Surgical Associates have been at the forefront of surgical care since 1966, and they have adopted and perfected laparoscopic techniques for a broad array of operations.

In the treatment of colorectal diseases, laparoscopic surgery is used for selected patients with:

• Colon Cancer
• Rectal Cancer
• Benign Colorectal Polyps
• Diverticulitis
• Rectal Prolapse
• Crohn's Disease
• Ulcerative Colitis

Perhaps nowhere is laparoscopic surgery more timely and important than in the treatment of patients with colon cancer.