09/10/2025
Me: Have you had any surgery?
Client: Yes, but it was only keyhole…
I hear this too often, and it’s such an easy dismissal to make.
Technology advancement in surgery is amazing, but it can also be deceiving.
Where surgeons once needed large incisions, many of those same procedures can now be done through “keyhole” techniques.
The benefits are real:
✅ Much smaller external scar that are quicker to heal
✅ Reduced infection risk after surgery
✅ Better visual appearance for the patient
But what happens inside the body hasn’t changed, and sometimes, the internal impact can be even broader
- A hysterectomy is still a hysterectomy
- A gall bladder removal is still a gall bladder removal
- A hernia repair still involves the same work inside, no matter how small the scar on the outside.
And where one incision once did the job, surgeons now often make three or four small cuts for cameras and tools. This leaves you with multiple scars, and often internal lines of scaring and restriction connecting them.
So if you have had keyhole surgery, don’t fall into the trap of thinking it’s less important or impactful than a bigger scar.
Here’s a real example:
A client had chronic back pain that was aggravated every time she bent down to pic something up.
Through my way off assessment, her body took me to her 40-year-old, 2 cm long appendectomy scar. The scar wasn’t causing her any problems and she hadn’t thought about it in years.
After two sessions of ScarWork and Visceral work to release the adhesions and restrictions in, around and under the scar her back pain went.
If you’d like to understand more about how scars can affect the body, I’ve written a blog about it:
https://itsallabouthealth.co.uk/the-hidden-world-of-scars/
Otherwise, please help spread the word:
Even the smallest scar can hold a much bigger story. And sometimes, it’s the missing link to ongoing pain.
