Porter surgeon first in the U.S. to perform single-incision cholecystectomy

Taking advantage of another breakthrough in robotic surgery, a surgeon at Porter Adventist Hospital is among the first in the country and is the first in the Rocky Mountain Region to perform a robotically-assisted removal of the gallbladder through a single small incision.

Each year, about one million people in the U.S will undergo gallbladder removal surgery. Of that number, 40 percent of these patients are women, ages 18 to 44. Thanks to this latest advance, patients can now have their gallbladder removed and be home in a few short hours with minimal discomfort and potentially no visible scar.

Warren Kortz, MD, a general surgeon and a member of the Porter Robotics Institute, recently performed the robotic-assisted cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal surgery) using a single incision through the belly button. Porter is one of just twenty sites across the country to offer this groundbreaking surgery made possible through a new FDA-approved single-site advancement to the da Vinci® Robotic Surgical System.

"This new technique offers even greater advantages to patients having gallbladder removal," Dr. Kortz said. "Robotic-assisted surgery has been a great option for patients, but now we can do an entire gallbladder procedure using just one small, cosmetically hidden incision. It is easier on the patient and the technology provides better surgical skill."

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. received FDA-approval on the new operating platform for the da Vinci® Surgical System specifically for cholecystectomy procedures. The system enables surgeons to reduce the traditional number of incisions from four small incisions to one incision that is an inch in length and cosmetically hidden at the belly button.

"We'll be able to use this technology for other surgical procedures in the future," Kortz added. "The instrumentation and the vision system are constantly being improved, and we can expect to see even greater benefits for patients and surgeons."