While many of the newly introduced devices for minimally invasive surgery are impressive simply from a technical standpoint, they become more interesting when you think about the problems that they can solve. We now have instruments that are easier to hold and ports that can make procedures safer and less painful for our patients, and if properly combined we may have more surgical options in the outpatient setting. Here are some of the new devices I saw at the 2008 SAGES conference in Philadelphia that can change how we operate.