Single Incision Surgery

Patients who need to undergo abdominal surgeries are increasingly benefiting from a technique that is performed with just one incision on the body. This method enables surgeons to perform complicated procedures with a single incision port that is safe and also does not leave any visible scars. The Single Incision Surgery is an important breakthrough for medical science, and is part of the growing number of minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery

In this type of surgery, the surgeon uses a single incisional port, usually the umbilicus, to enetr the abdomen and access the area that needs to be operated. This surgery is also called single port surgery. The advantage of this approach is that the patient will have hardly any pain and virtually no scars will be evident later. Most laparoscopic surgery procedures follow a multi-port approach, which require more number of incisions to be made on the body. The other advantage is that patients treated with this surgery usually return home the same day. With conventional laparoscopic surgery, they would be required to stay in the hospital overnight. The single incision procedure is largely used in gallbladder and appendix removal etc. This surgery has the potential to change the way bariatric and esophageal surgeries are performed. Many complex operations of the abdominal and pelvic areas are possible with this technique. There are two instruments that help make the single port laparoscopic surgery a reality. They are the multi-instrument access port and the special laparoscope, which has a bendable tip that can go around corners, helping the surgeon to see around corners clearly. After preparing the patient with general anesthesia, the abdomen is inflated with carbon dioxide to allow for space for greater maneuverability of the instruments. After the surgery is over and the instruments removed, the belly button retains its natural texture and no external signs of the procedure are seen.

Advantage Over Multi-Port Laparoscopic Approach

The patient who had undergone single port laparoscopy has a definite advantage over the multi-port approach. The patient spends less time as an inpatient in the hospital. There is far less loss of blood. There is much less postoperative pain. Also, surgery with this technique gives a much better cosmetic result as there is only one incision.

Areas Where SILP is Applied

Single port surgery has a wide variety of applications. It is used to operate on patients with myriad complications. As mentioned earlier, it is mostly used to treat gallbladder problems, appendectomy, etc. It has also found use in treating complications in the colon like cancer, diverticulitis and, inflammatory bowel disease. This is done through a colectomy. All types of hernias can also be treated with this approach. Surgeries to make the individual lose weight like gastric banding surgeries can also be done through this approach. Patients needing hysterectomy, sleeve gastrectomy, etc. could benefit from this type of surgery. It is also increasingly being used for taking tissue for biopsies from the gastrointestinal tract.

All in all, there seems to be a definitive advantage for SILP over the traditional approach in that the discomfort to the patient is minimized very much. So is you need any abdominal surgical procedure, check with your doctor if you could have this procedure instead of the conventional one!