HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Launches Single Site Surgery Program

Each year, more than a million people experience gallstone disease. Gallbladder attacks caused by gallstones lodged in the bile ducts of the gallbladder can be extremely painful and life-threatening. Years ago, doctors performed an open procedure to remove the gallbladder that leaves a long incision of five to eight inches, but newer minimally-invasive procedures are now available, and HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital offers a da Vinci® robot-assisted Single-Site® surgery that is virtually scar free.
 
Dr. Nikesh Lath, FACS, a general surgeon with HSHS Medical Group, has performed this new procedure at St. Mary’s since September 2016. “Fewer incisions correlate with fewer wound issues, better cosmesis and faster recovery,” explains Lath. “Due to the Firefly technology® built into the da Vinci®, patients also avoid radiation exposure from intra-operative cholangiograms traditionally used in laparoscopic and open procedures.”
 
Lath says, “A robotic, single incision cholecystectomy involves just one tiny single incision in the belly button instead of four through a laparoscopic approach or a large incision through the open approach.” This new procedure has a low rate of complications, minimal pain and high patient satisfaction.
 
To learn more about St. Mary’s da Vinci® Single-Site® Surgery program click here or call 217-464-1200.