Many people have heard of minimally invasive surgery, but what exactly is minimally invasive? Minimally invasive means to remove the lesion most thoroughly with the smallest surgical trauma, to maintain the stability of the body to the maximum extent, and to obtain the best treatment effect. When it comes to liver surgery, many people think of the light and blood on the operating table, the huge pain of the incision, the inability to eat for days after surgery, the busy families of the patients, the months needed for full recovery, the classic “Mercedes” scar on the belly, and the constant itching and pain. These descriptions of traditional liver surgery are not wrong. Traditional surgery is indeed a double-edged sword, removing lesions while causing major damage to the body. Chen Yajin, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University But the emergence of minimally invasive surgery, represented by laparoscopic surgery, has overturned the impression of traditional liver surgery. After minimally invasive surgical treatment, even hemihepatectomy, which used to be extremely traumatic with 20-30 cm long postoperative scars, leaves only 3 or 4 small traces of 0.5-2 cm on the body surface, and if single-hole laparoscopic surgery through the umbilicus is chosen. It is even possible to achieve a completely scarless body surface. In addition, with minimally invasive surgery, the postoperative pain is minimal, or even non-existent in some cases, and some patients can go to the floor the same day. Hospitalization time is also greatly reduced, such as gallbladder surgery can be discharged in 2 days, and liver and pancreatic surgery can be discharged within a week. People have a misconception about minimally invasive surgery, thinking that minimally invasive means small incisions. In fact, some diseases are very complicated and take more than ten hours to do. Although it is a small incision, it bleeds a lot and is a heavy trauma to the patient, not minimally invasive. Nowadays, the proportion of minimally invasive surgery is getting higher and higher. At present, about half of the abdominal surgeries can be done laparoscopically in some large hospitals where minimally invasive surgery is well carried out, and the proportion of laparoscopic liver surgery is also getting higher and higher, and in the future, with the development of lumpectomy technology, 80%-90% of abdominal surgeries can be done laparoscopically. Minimally invasive surgery has evolved from a mere technical advancement to a concept sought by both patients and doctors, and has become one of the mainstream directions of modern surgical development. However, patients need to be reminded that despite the obvious features of minimally invasive surgery, not every patient is suitable for minimally invasive surgery due to its high technical and equipment requirements, especially laparoscopic liver surgery requires not only a skilled surgeon with lumpectomy skills but also extensive experience in traditional liver surgery. It should be decided by experienced specialists to avoid unnecessary pain and risk to patients.