Albert Einstein Healthcare Network (AEHN) announced today that its chief bariatric surgeon successfully performed the Mid-Atlantic region’s first laparoscopic gastric banding surgery, which is performed through a single incision in a patient’s umbilicus (or belly button), ultimately resulting in the potential for no visible scar. The traditional open laparoscopic surgery requires four or five small incisions to accommodate the laparoscope, various surgical instruments, and catheters. A handful of surgeons like Ramsey Dallal, MD, Chief of Bariatric Surgery at AEHN, are slipping the tools of their trade through a single incision, often with the help of a rubbery “port” appliance that fits into the cut.
According to Dr. Dallal, “the SILSTM procedure epitomizes minimally invasive surgery. The laparoscope eliminates the need for open surgery and its multiple, long incisions, and no portion of the digestive track is excised.”
Thousands of multi-incision laparoscopic gastric banding procedures are performed in the U.S. each year, and the patient is most always left visibly scarred. With the single-incision SILS procedure, patients may never even see evidence of the surgery. Laparoscopic gastric banding achieves weight loss in morbidly obese patients by curbing their food intake. The top portion of the stomach is cinched with an adjustable band, creating a small pouch that quickly fills up with food. Food then passes slowly into the rest of the stomach, supplying nutrition.