|
Scarless Surgery: SMHC Physicians are at the Forefront of Next-Generation Laparoscopy
You need surgery. It’s the last thing most of us want to hear at the doctor’s office. Although a chronic condition may be causing a great deal of discomfort, we shudder at the thought of large, ugly incisions and post-surgical pain. But what if you could have the surgery you need with no visible scar? What if you could go home from the hospital the same day you had surgery? It’s all happening at Southern Maryland Hospital Center (SMHC).
General Surgeon Dr. Hitesh Amin, MD, is pioneering next-generation laparoscopy at SMHC using the SILS procedure (Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery). Using the SILS procedure, laparoscopic surgeries are performed through a single incision in the belly button, leaving the patient with no visible scar.
To understand why this is such a giant leap forward, it helps to know how abdominal surgery used to be. Twenty years ago, physicians began to use traditional laparoscopy, which uses a tiny lighted camera to help doctors navigate during the surgery. This allowed doctors to perform abdominal surgery with a series of small incisions, usually ½ inch each, rather than the six- to eight-inch incision that open surgery required. The single incision procedure is a significant step forward in laparoscopy, made possible by improvements in surgical instruments and advances in minimally invasive surgery techniques. “It’s laparoscopy 2.0,” Dr. Amin says.
Dr. Amin underwent extensive training to master the SILS technique, completing courses in minimally invasive surgery and single incision laparoscopy as well as training with his surgical team.
Single incision laparoscopy has quickly become one of the most popular surgeries he performs. “Our patients love the surgery. They love being able to go right back to work and resume their lives. They love the idea of having surgery with no visible scars.”
Although the SILS procedure was originally developed for gall bladder removal surgery, it has the potential to revolutionize many other procedures as well. For example, Dr. Amin has expanded his repertoire of applications to include a dozen different surgeries, from removing cancerous tumors in the colon to repairing damaged abdominal tissues.
What’s most exciting about this technique is that at SMHC, doctors are able to offer patients the same surgery that has been done for decades in a much less invasive way. “Patients are getting the same operation that they would get with open surgery or traditional laparoscopy, and it is just as effective at removing, for example, the patient’s infected appendix or damaged ovary,” Dr. Amin notes. With a less invasive technique, the results may actually be better for the patient.” Not only is there no increase in post operative complications like pain or infection, less invasive techniques require less hospitalization and a shorter recovery time.
|
