Without A Scapel

Today is National Without a Scalpel Day.

What does that mean?

It means medical procedures done without a scalpel using a procedure called, Minimally Invasive, Image-guided Procedures or “MIIP.” On this day on 1964 the first MIIP was done to open a blocked artery in a woman’s leg. It was performed by Dr. Charles Dotter in Portland, OR, USA. Without this procedure, the woman would have lost her leg to amputation. Instead, she left the hospital a couple days later with only a bandaid over the tiny puncture wound used.

MIIP Uses

Today there are many procedures done without a scalpel. Cancer, aneurysms, heart procedures, bleeding and more are done using MIIPs. I had a bleeding ovary that needed to be cauterized back in the late 1970’s. It was done using a laparoscopic surgical procedure, which was about a half-inch incision and left a half-inch scar. I needed to stay in the hospital overnight and it was a considerable expense. I didn’t have health insurance at the time. It took me about two years to pay the bills. My down time was several days, maybe a week. Had my doctor used the MIIP instead, I probably could have left in hours and it would have been less invasive.

Learn More

To help people learn more about the procedure, a new documentary series is available to watch for free. Each episode follows the story of a real person transformed by this cutting edge procedure and walked out with only a bandaid.

If you have Amazon Prime, they have it. If you’re in the United States, the library Overdrive borrowing system will allow you to watch through that. There are other ways to watch, too. Check out the Series website, Without a Scalpel to read more about MIIPS, watch trailers, and get links to sites that are carrying the docu-series.

Sources: National Day Calendar, WithoutAScalpel.com

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