Led by Ovunc Bardakcioglu, MD. a gastrointestinal surgeon at SLU Hospital, the single-incision surgery team has already performed a number of gastrointestinal procedures, including appendectomies, gall bladder removals and colectomies. According to the release, SLU Hospital’s program is one of a few in the region to perform a single-incision laparoscopic colectomy for colorectal cancer.
Single-incision surgery involves the use of a flexible scope and instruments that can easily move around inside the body and produce images from almost every angle. Additionally, the instrument provides surgeons with a larger field of view and helps them avoid situations where the tips of different instruments collide in smaller spaces during the operation. According to the release, single-incision surgery is the first step in the use of traditional flexible endoscopes in minimally-invasive surgery by using natural orifices of the human body as entry points. Currently, three different routes to the peritoneal cavity are being investigated: transgastric, transvaginal and transcolonic.
Dr. Bardakcioglu is scheduled to lead courses on single-incision surgery for surgeons in the region and will lead a national course scheduled for June 2009, according to the release.
Read the release on SLU Hospital’s single-incision surgery for GI procedures.
