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Yale-New Haven Hospital news release
Release date: Oct. 6, 2008
Media contact: (203) 688-2488
Single-port surgeries at Yale-New Haven equal less discomfort, quicker recovery
NEW HAVEN &mdash=; Last year, Yale-New Haven Hospital surgeon Kurt E. Roberts, MD, performed what was believed to be the first true single-port laparoscopic appendectomy when he removed the appendix of a 22-year-old woman using only one small incision in the navel instead of the three incisions commonly used for this procedure.Fast forward a year and Dr. Roberts has performed several more single-port appendectomies and has expanded the technique to complete single-port umbilical hernia repairs and cholecystectomies (gallbladder removals).
"This is exciting news because surgery performed with only one small incision is even less invasive than the widely performed three-port laparoscopic surgery which uses three incisions," explained Dr. Roberts, "because one incision equates to even less pain and shorter recovery time for the patient than the usual three."
With an open, or traditional gallbladder removal surgery, the gallbladder is removed through a 5-to 8-inch long incision in the lower right abdomen, just below the ribs. Similarly, during a traditional appendectomy, the surgeon enters the body through an incision in the lower right abdomen then severs the appendix from the colon and removes it.
Since early 2000 however, many appendix and gallbladder removals have been performed laparoscopically, which involves the use of a thin telescope attached to a video camera allowing the surgeon to inspect the inside of the abdomen. When done laparoscopically, three or more "ports" or surgical incisions are commonly made in a patient’s abdomen.
In recent years, the trend in abdominal surgery has been to reduce the number of incisions necessary. Dr. Roberts’ single-port abdominal surgical procedures involve using only one single port, or incision, for entry into the abdomen and repair or removal of the organ. The single port is hidden in the navel and the already small incision becomes nearly invisible once the wound is healed.
"We're very excited to now offer both gallbladder removal, as well as appendectomies to our patients, as treating both with the single-port procedure means we are now able to send a greater number of patients home with significantly less pain and scarring, greater infection control and healing times that are drastically reduced resulting in tremendous medical and cosmetic benefits for the patients,” Roberts said.
Dr. Roberts is a gastrointestinal surgeon at Yale-New Haven Hospital and assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine.
To speak with Dr. Kurt Roberts in more detail about this innovative technique, please contact Mark D’Antonio (203) 688-2493
Yale-New Haven Hospital, in New Haven, Conn., is a 944-bed not-for-profit hospital serving as the primary teaching hospital for the Yale University School of Medicine. Yale-New Haven was founded as the fourth voluntary hospital in the United States in 1826, and today the hospital complex includes Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital and Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital, with a combined medical staff of about 3,400 university and community physicians practicing in more than 100 specialties. See www.ynhh.org for additional information.
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Last revised: Sept. 8, 2008 (dh)
