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Kathy Huynh
English 111
Research Paper
December 18, 2015
Video Games vs. Laparoscopic Surgery
Staring at a screen and staring at a naked body video games and laparoscopic
surgery are two terms many do not hear in the same sentence, however there is a link between
the two. Although video games are believed to have negative effects on the player, in reality, it is
actually proven that video games can better the future of healthcare. Video games and
laparoscopic surgery share similar backgrounds, require similar skills, and focus on similar
outcomes within contrasting aspects.
The definitions of video games, according to Dr. James Paul Gee, the Mary Lou Fulton
Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies at Arizona State University, are complex systems
composed of rules that interact. (2015) William Higinbotham, an American Physicist, invented
the first electronic game in October 1958. He invented a simple electronic tennis game and it was
first played at a Brookhaven National Laboratory open house. (This) The highest top selling
videogame of 2014 is Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and the top selling computer game of
2014 is The Sims 4. All men and women of all ages play or have played video games. (2015)
Video games can cause decreased academic performance, decreased pro-social behavior, and
aggressive behavior, thoughts, or feelings. Many parents believe in the negative connotations
because the adverse effects do appear within their children after constantly playing video games.
During an observation, an eleven year old who played video games for about three hours
everyday after school was quite aggressive in the way he spoke. (Huynh) His grades went from

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all As to Bs after receiving a brand new game console for his Christmas present. He did not
go outside as much to play with his friends after playing video games day by day. Laparoscopic
surgery, on the other hand, is a minimally invasive surgery. It is a surgical procedure with the
assistance of a video camera and several thin instruments. During laparoscopic surgery, a small
incision is made in the abdominal region of the body. It is a minimally invasive surgery because
a camera attached to a thin metal telescope, called a laparoscope, is placed into the incision site
to see and reach the infection site. According to Walter Peters Jr. of the American Society of
Colon and Rectal Surgeons,
Laparoscopic surgery refers to a technique where the surgeon makes several small
incisions about in size, instead of a single large incision. For most colon and
rectal operations, 3-5 incisions are needed. Small tubes, called trocars, are
placed through these incisions and into the abdomen. Carbon dioxide gas is used
to inflate the abdomen in order to give the surgeon room to work. This allows the
surgeon to use a camera attached to a thin metal telescope (called a laparoscope)
to watch a magnified view of the inside the abdomen on operating room monitors.
(Peters, Jr.)
This surgery procedure is designed to decrease pain and increase the speed of recovery
for the patient, as well as minimizing the appearance of a scar. Dimitri Von Ott, Georg Kelling,
and Hans Christian Jacobeus first introduced laparoscopic surgery at the beginning of the
twentieth century. Von Ott inspected the abdominal cavity of a pregnant woman in 1901 using
the laparoscopic surgery technique. (Peters, Jr.) The procedure can be performed on male or
female organs by a surgeon, however it is mainly used for females in the pelvic region for
gynecologic reasons. Laparoscopic surgery requires anesthesia, but is inexpensive, does not

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require a long hospital stay, has fewer complications, has a quick recovery time, diminishes
blood loss, and is not stressful. (Laparoscopy)
Two skills that both video gamers and laparoscopic surgeons must possess are agility and
precision. Agility is the ability to be quick and graceful, and precision is to be accurate. Video
gamers need to be agile because to play an electronic basketball or to shoot an enemy, the gamer
needs to be fast. The video gamer also needs to be accurate to shoot an enemy or a ball to reach
the end of the game. Qualities of a true video gamer, according to Dean, a sales associate from
Game Stop in Lynnhaven Mall, depend on the game, really. If youre playing Just Dance,
you should be precise with your movements so the sensor could pick it up. It also depends on the
player and his style. When asked about action games, Dean, an avid videogame player himself,
replied, you really do need [to react quickly] because to kill the enemy before he kills
you, you need to be quick. It is the same with racing games because you have to win the race, of
course. You also need to be precise, just like dance games, like Just Dance. (Dean)
Laparoscopic surgeons also need to be agile in order to perform the procedure. The surgeon must
perform the surgery quickly, but also end it with positive results. If there is a complication within
the surgery, the surgeon must react quickly to care for the patient. Precision is also an important
skill when it comes to laparoscopic surgery because if the surgeon knicks an important artery,
blood could come gushing out of the patient, which will require extensive hospital care,
defeating the purpose of laparoscopic surgery.
Both video games and laparoscopic surgery have one goal: to complete the task. In video
games, their ultimate goal depends on the type of game it is. In Mario & Luigi, the goal is to save
Princess Peach from Bowser while collecting coins and super mushrooms, dodging Venus Fly
Traps, and avoiding dangerous pits. However, in Call of Duty, the gamers goal is to kill the

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enemy before the enemy kills him and depending on which Call of Duty game the player is
playing, he or she could be taking out terrorists in the modern world or fighting as a soldier in
World War II. Most of the time, the ultimate goal is to get to the end of the game. In laparoscopic
surgery, the goal also depends on the diagnosis of the patient. If the patient has a cyst within his
or her body, then the surgery could be performed to take a tissue sample for a biopsy. However, if
the patient has a hiatal hernia, which is when the stomach bulges up into the chest through the
opening in the diaphragm, also known as the hiatus, then laparoscopic surgery could be
performed to fix the problem. The goal of the surgery is mainly to make the patient feel better
again, while being painless and relieving symptoms.
Even though it is believed that videogames have nothing to do with laparoscopic surgery,
it is actually true that video games do help future laparoscopic surgeons because of their similar
requirements. Both share relatable backgrounds, require comparable talents, and focus on similar
accomplishments within different conditions.

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Works Cited
"2015 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry."Boom: A Journal of
California 5.1 (2015): n. pag. Entertainment Software Association, 2015. Web. 15 Dec.
2015.
Dean. Personal Interview. 16 December 2015.
Huynh, Kaleb. Observation. 16 December 2015.
"Laparoscopy: Results, Reasons for Testing, Prep, and More." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 14
Dec. 2015.
Peters, Jr., Walter R. "Minimally Invasive Surgery Expanded Version. "Minimally Invasive
Surgery Expanded Version. American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, n.d. Web.
17 Dec. 2015.
"This Month in Physics History - October 1958: Physicist Invents First Video Game. N.p., n.d.
Web. 20 Dec. 2015.