Laparoscopy: Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances

Amar  Bhidé; Caitlin N. Bowler; Srikant M. Datar

Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2019

Laparoscopy: Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances

by Amar Bhidé, Caitlin N. Bowler and Srikant M. Datar

Abstract

We describe how operations through laparoscopes—tubular instruments inserted into abdominal cavities—revolutionized gynecological and other surgeries inside the abdomen such as gall bladder removal. Specifically we chronicle the following: 1) foundational contributions of gynecologists in France and Germany in the 1960s; 2) development of female sterilization and infertility treatments (that used laparoscopes) in Britain in the 1970s; 3) transformation of gall bladder removal surgery in the U.S. in the late 1980s, which set the stage for other “minimally invasive” surgical procedures; and 4) geographic dissemination of these procedures.

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Technology Adoption; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Invention; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms;

Language: English

Format: Print

20 pages

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Citation:

Bhidé, Amar, Caitlin N. Bowler, and Srikant M. Datar. "Laparoscopy: Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-008, July 2019.

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We describe how Computed Tomography (CT) scanners—that combine x-rays and computers to image soft tissues of the brain and other organs—have become a widely used diagnostic tool. Specifically, we chronicle the following: 1) development of the first CT scanner (through the early 1970s); 2) rapid and enthusiastic adoption of CT scanning (until the late 1970s); 3) regulatory backlash against the perceived overuse of this expensive technology (in the 1980s); and 4) innovations that reignited growth (in the 1990s and 2000s).

We describe how a chance discovery of bacteria that infects stomach linings completely changed how physicians treat ulcers. Specifically, we chronicle how 1) two Australian physicians brought the bacterial infection to the world’s attention and challenged the conventional view that stomach acidity caused ulcers; 2) a global community of researchers helped corroborate the Australians’ findings and developed convenient tests and effective treatments; and 3) these tests and treatments were gradually, but not immediately, adopted.

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Laparoscopy: Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances

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