Minimally Invasive Surgery Options Drive Surgical Procedure Volumes



April 1, 2005 -- There has been a global move towards the use of minimally invasive surgery in place of traditional open surgical procedures. This trend is apparent in cardiovascular, endoscopy, gynecology, general surgery, orthopedic, and urology procedures. The move to minimally invasive surgery is providing a benefit both to the patient, as well as to the physician and the hospital. These procedures feature shorter preparation, operation, and recovery time, as well as fewer complications that can arise from open surgery. A physician is thus able to operate on more patients who are each able to recover faster and sooner return to his or her normal routine.

One particularly notable advancement in minimally invasive surgery falls in the field of cardiovascular surgery. While the use of stents for peripheral vascular indications as a whole is growing at 12%, in the US, one subsegment of this procedure-the use of stents for carotid indications-will grow by more than double this over the forecast period. This strong growth is attributable to promising clinical trials, approval from the Food and Drug Administration, and the recent approval of stents for carotid indications from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Growth in carotid stenting will lead to the cannibalization of other open procedures intended to achieve the same result, such as carotid endarterectomy.
Another such advancement in the field of orthopedics is that of Kyphoplasty, a minimally invasive treatment of vertebral compression fractures. In the US, there will be growth of 4.6% in overall spinal procedures, but growth of almost 23% in Kyphoplasty procedures. This disparity in growth rates is largely attributable to Kryphoplasty's comparable abilities in pain reduction while minimizing the long recovery time that is a hallmark of traditional spinal fusions.

The trend towards minimally invasive surgery is also reflected throughout European and Japanese markets. Kyphoplasty, however, will not be on the market in Japan until 2010 as it awaits regulatory approval.

MRG's Global Surgical Procedure Volumes 2005 discusses minimally invasive surgery as well as other traditional techniques. It covers over 70 different procedures falling into anesthetic, cardiovascular, dental, diagnostic imaging, endoscopy, gynecology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, and urology.

A leading source of competitive intelligence, MRG is now the largest provider of medical device market research in the world. Located in Toronto, Canada, MRG covers global markets and has pioneered reporting of numerous emerging products.

Contact Information:
Derrick Navarro
Millennium Research Group Inc.,
(416) 364-7776 ext. 133
www.mrg.net





Minimally Invasive Surgery Options Drive Surgical Procedure Volumes