History of Endoscopic Surgery

Abstract

The evolution of endoscopic surgery to the present state of techniques and equipment has been credited to the physicians and surgeons who made efforts to provide minimal access options to their patients and observed benefits of this approach. Endoscopic surgery has been viewed with skepticism over the centuries and has found widespread acceptance only in the last 2 decades. Initial advances in endoscopic surgery were not acceptable by medical societies, and physicians venturing into these fields were punished for undue curiosity. Instruments had to be designed and manufactured for a specific use and inventions found their ways to manufacturers with apprehensions. The outbreak of the World Wars also negatively influenced the advances in endoscopic surgery. This chapter outlines the observations made in the implementation of endoscopic surgery, developments of instruments for specific procedures and noteworthy contributions of physicians and surgeons who put in hard work during difficult times in the establishment of this field of surgery over the centuries.