Laparoscopy Overview
Using minimally invasive surgical techniques (MIS), commonly referred to as keyhole techniques, belly-button surgery, or laparoscopy, surgeons today can diagnose or treat patients, and in some cases remove or repair a part of the body, without performing a major incision common in traditional abdominal surgery. In laparoscopy, rather than making a large incision through the abdominal wall to create a wide visual field, small cuts (ports) are made into the abdomen and a long, slender instrument, called a laparoscope, is inserted. The laparoscope is equipped with both a light source and a tiny video camera to provide surgeons with a magnified view of the patient's internal organs on a video screen or monitor. The surgeon watches the image of the body's interior on the monitor as a guide throughout the procedure.

The objective of MIS is to accomplish internal repair while the body surface remains intact and while minimizing the trauma to the body. This enables faster patient recovery, fewer complications, and reduces hospitalization stays.


The Need
Virtual Ports’s products address the needs of those involved in laparoscopic procedures at every level:
 

	Improve maneuverability and visibility for surgeons for more efficient operations
	Lower costs for healthcare providers
	Return patients to their normal daily routine with fewer intra and post operative complications while improving the cosmetics associated with those types of procedures

The Virtual Ports Solution
In conventional MIS, each instrument which is introduced into the operating field requires a dedicated port through the abdomen. Each port results in a scar for the patient, an avenue for infection, while obscuring the surgeon’s view of the operating field

Virtual Ports's products are comprised of internally anchored patent pending laparoscopic tools with removable introducers. This design enables the introduction of these novel instruments into the abdominal cavity without the need for additional access ports. Thus, Virtual Ports eliminates the traditional “port per device” equation.

Virtual Ports’ first products include EndoClear™, an internally anchored laparoscope camera cleaner, and EndoGrab™, an internal retractor