[Reflections on the past, present and future of minimally invasive surgery]

So-called "minimally invasive surgery" aims to contribute to reducing the effects of surgical trauma and its consequences. A milestone in the development of this concept has been the generalisation of techniques of the videoendoscopic approach in numerous surgical procedures. Outstanding amongst these is laparoscopy, which makes it possible to carry out different abdominal surgical techniques while guaranteeing maximum respect for the peritoneal surface and the abdominal wall itself. This is translated into lower morbidity and mortality and better recovery by the patients. For videoendoscopic access to become consolidated as the first option against the traditional or open approach, it is necessary that two requisites be met: the indication of surgery must be the same irrespective of the approach, and the results in terms of efficiency, safety and cost must be similar or superior. In the immediate future, with the increase in the experience of surgical teams and the improvement of technological capacity, there will be a growth in the number of procedures susceptible to approach using this technique.