Des Peres Hospital announced today that single incision laparoscopic surgery for gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy) and other more common general surgery procedures is now an option for qualified patients. This technique utilizes only one access point, through the patient’s umbilicus, or belly button, ultimately resulting in the potential for no visible scar.  By comparison, traditional laparoscopic gallbladder removal involves four one inch or smaller incisions that may leave scars.

According to general surgeon Dr. Darin Minkin, one of the first in the St. Louis area to perform the procedure, single incision surgery is really a next step in minimally invasive surgery.

“With the successful implementation of this technique, Des Peres Hospital is now equipped to offer patients an advanced form of laparoscopic cholecystectomy,” said Minkin.

“At Des Peres Hospital, patient care is our highest priority.  So we are thrilled to be at the forefront of a new kind of surgery that can result in even better experiences for patients,” said Michele C. Meyer, Des Peres Hospital chief executive officer.

Currently, more than 80 percent of all cholecystectomies performed in the Unites States are done laparoscopically with multiple access points.  Using this new procedure, surgeons can make a single 20mm incision through the belly button minimizing the pain that may be associated with the additional sites of entry.

Approximately 500,000 procedures are performed each year in the U.S. to remove the gallbladder,  a small pear-shaped organ located in the upper abdomen beneath the bladder.    While the gallbladder’s main function – to store bile produced by the liver and release it for digestion – is important to the body, it is not essential.   Gallbladder surgeries are usually performed for the treatment of gallstones – small solid formations of cholesterol and bile salts within the gallbladder – or inflammation of the gallbladder, known as cholecystitis. 

Accomplished by using specialized instruments and a SILSTM Port that replaces the multiple ports currently utilized in single incision surgeries, the procedure is performed in surgeries related to gynecologic, bariatric and urologic conditions.