Future trends in minimally invasive surgery.

Health care costs in the United States are climbing annually at a staggering rate. Technology often is blamed for rising health care costs; however, some medical advances, such as minimally invasive surgery (MIS), are critical to improving health care efficiency, enhancing the quality of care provided, and decreasing overall expenses. Savings or profits relating to technology may be difficult to measure quantitatively, but when surgeons and perioperative personnel have reached the peak of the learning curve for performing MIS procedures, complication rates drop significantly. Patients are experiencing the benefits of MIS (eg, decreased postoperative pain, shorter hospital stays and often no need for an overnight stay, ability to return to work sooner), all of which encourage technologically savvy consumers to seek MIS options.