(MINOT, ND)
The days of proudly showing off one’s surgical
scars may be coming to an end.
For many common surgical procedures there has been a remarkable evolution over the last two
decades from open surgeries with a large incision to laparoscopic procedures that use four small incisions or punctures that serve as ports for the laparoscopic instruments.
But now laparoscopic surgery itself has evolved, giving way to a single port method for some procedures ‚Ä’ one that requires just one small incision, and a discreet one at that.
Dr. Lane Lee, a board-certified general and vascular surgeon with Trinity Health, has been performing single incision laparoscopic surgery for the past couple of years. He says it was a natural progression borrowing techniques from basic procedures like tubal ligations and appendectomies, long performed with a single incision, and applying them to more difficult cases like gallbladder surgery and bowel resections. He also completed a laparoscopic fellowship where he was trained in advanced single incision methodology.
The use of a single incision for more advanced procedures like gallbladders and bowel resections came about because of better lighting, better tools, better instrumentation, and better imaging,” Dr. Lee explained. “”Now we have halogen lights