The Hidden Cost Disruptor in Minimally Invasive Surgery: How AirSeal® Turns Pressure into Savings

  • Published: 11/10/2025
  • 5 min

Lower pressure. Fewer complications. Real savings.

This isn’t a promise. It’s proof.

Every hospital is chasing the same two goals: better outcomes and lower costs. But in the high-stakes world of minimally invasive surgery (MIS), there’s a hidden driver of cost that rarely gets the spotlight – intra-abdominal pressure (IAP).

For years, traditional insufflation systems have forced surgeons into a painful trade-off. Either increase the intra-abdominal pressure to maintain visibility and stability or lower it to decrease physiological impact and risk compromised surgical conditions. It’s a choice no surgeon should have to make. AirSeal® delivers the technology that eliminates this compromise.

With AirSeal®, you don’t have to choose between stability and lower pressure. You get both. That means safer surgeries, smoother recoveries, and a dramatic impact on hospital costs, all without sacrificing performance.

Redefining the Rules of the OR

The technology behind AirSeal® enables you to work in lower pressure with stability, not in exchange for it.1-6 This is more than a statement. It’s a clinical reality. Across specialties, surgeons are seeing the benefits of stable, low-pressure pneumoperitoneum translate directly into shorter operative times, faster patient recovery, and fewer dollars spent. 1-6

Let’s take a closer look.

General Surgery: Less Time, Less Cost, Less Complication

In a study on laparoscopic ventral hernia repair, Ramshaw demonstrated that using AirSeal® at just 8 to 10 mmHg cut procedure times by 25 percent and shortened hospital stays compared to standard insufflation. 7

When we talk about economic impact, Needleman found AirSeal® saved an average of 12.3 minutes per gastric bypass case, amounting to roughly $345 in OR time savings per procedure.8 That adds up fast.

Urology: Same-Day Discharge Becomes the Norm

When Abaza and Ferroni studied 600 patients undergoing surgery at just 6 mmHg, a stunning 43.3 percent were discharged the same day. Fewer complications. Fewer readmissions. 9 That’s a win for the patient and the hospital.

Meanwhile, El-Hajj and Ayoub reported that AirSeal® shaved off 12.3 minutes of operative time, shortened the length of stay by 0.5 days, and led to fewer post-op complications. 10 That’s cost efficiency in action.

Gynecology: Pressure Down, Recovery Up

In a gynecological study, Benifla found that twice as many patients in the AirSeal® group were discharged the same day compared to standard insufflation (46.7 percent vs. 23.3 percent). 11

And Huang took it further, showing that each reduction in IAP correlated with lower pain scores and shorter lengths of stay, with the 8 mmHg group seeing the greatest benefit. 12

Colorectal Surgery: Less Pressure, Faster Recovery

In colorectal cases, Denost showed patients treated at 7 mmHg had one full day shorter hospital stays and improved post-op mobilization compared to those treated at 12 mmHg. 13

Grieco found that patients at 12 mmHg had lower rates of post-op ileus and resumed oral feeding sooner than those at 15 mmHg. 14

This Is What a Smarter OR Looks Like

AirSeal® doesn’t just offer clinical advantages. It reshapes the economics of surgery itself. It reframes what cost savings should look like, not by cutting corners, but by enabling a system where patients get out of the hospital faster, recover better, and experience fewer complications.

It’s simple. Lower pressure. Stable pneumoperitoneum. Better outcomes. Lower cost of care.

Built for the Future of Surgery

As healthcare systems around the world deal with rising costs and mounting demand, AirSeal® offers a clear, proven path forward. It aligns clinical excellence with economic efficiency. It's not just an insufflation system. It's a strategic investment in the future of minimally invasive surgery.

And the numbers speak for themselves.

If your OR isn't using AirSeal®, you're not just missing out on a better surgical experience. You're leaving savings on the table.

Lowering pressure in surgery has traditionally meant giving something up – stability, visibility, or control. With AirSeal®, it never has to again.

AirSealiFS Product with correct numbers display on the face

Want to know what this could mean for your OR?

Take a closer look at AirSeal®

1 Bucur P, Hofmann M, Menhadji A, et al. Comparison of Pneumoperitoneum Stability Between a Valveless Trocar System and Conventional Insufflation: A Prospective Randomized Trial. Urology. 2016;94:274- 280. doi:10.1016/j.urology.2016.04.022
2 Nepple KG, Kallogjeri D, Bhayani SB. Benchtop evaluation of pressure barrier insufflator and standard insufflator systems. Surg Endosc. 2013;27(1):333-338. doi:10.1007/s00464-012-2434-x
3 Annino, F., Topazio, L., Autieri, D., Verdacchi, T., De Angelis, M., & Asimakopoulos, A. D. (2017). Robotic partial nephrectomy performed with Airseal versus a standard CO2 pressure pneumoperitoneum insufflator: a prospective comparative study. Surgical endoscopy, 31(4), 1583–1590. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-016-5144-y
4 Paull JO, Parsacandola SA, Graham A, Hota S, Pudalov N, Obias V. The impact of the AirSeal® valve-less trocar system in robotic colorectal surgery: a single-surgeon retrospective review. J Robot Surg. 2021;15(1):87-92. doi:10.1007/s11701-020-01071-w
5 Ramshaw B, Forman B, Heidel E, Dean J, Gamenthaler A, Fabian M. A Clinical Quality Improvement (CQI) Project to Improve Pain After Laparoscopic Ventral Hernia Repair. Surg Technol Int. 2016;29:125-130.
6 Shahait, M., Cockrell, R., Yezdani, M., Yu, S. J., Lee, A., McWilliams, K., & Lee, D. I. (2019). Improved Outcomes Utilizing a Valveless-Trocar System during Robot-assisted Radical Prostatectomy (RARP). JSLS:Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons, 23(1), e2018.00085. https://doi.org/10.4293/JSLS.2018.00085
7 Ramshaw. Surgical Technology International XXIX. CQI study of laparoscopic ventral hernia repair with AirSeal® at 8–10 mmHg vs standard insufflation at 15 mmHg.
8 Needleman. SAGES publication. Retrospective, randomized study of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass with AirSeal® 10 mm trocar vs VersaStep 12 mm trocar.
9 Abaza, Ferroni. British Journal of Urology International. Prospective, consecutive study of robotic prostatectomy with AirSeal® at 6 mmHg vs 15 mmHg.
10 El-Hajj, Ayoub. World Journal of Urology. Single-tertiary center study of robotic prostatectomy with AirSeal® at 10 mmHg vs standard insufflation at 12 mmHg.
11 Benifla. Journal of Gynecology Obstetrics and Human Reproduction. Prospective, randomized study of laparoscopic gynecology with AirSeal® at 7 mmHg vs standard insufflation at 15 mmHg.
12 Huang. Journal of Robotic Surgery. Prospective, consecutive study of robotic gynecology with AirSeal® at 8–12 mmHg vs standard insufflation at 15 mmHg.
13 Denost. British Journal of Surgery. Prospective, randomized study of laparoscopic and robotic colectomy with AirSeal® at 7 mmHg vs 12 mmHg.
14 Grieco. Updates in Surgery. Consecutive, retrospective study of TaTME with AirSeal® at 12 mmHg vs 15 mmHg.