Single-site robotic gallbladder removal leaves patients virtually scarless

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) - A new, minimally invasive surgery is leaving patients virtually scarless after having their gallbladders removed.  A robot is making this single-site surgery possible, thanks to the da Vinci Surgical System and highly trained robotic surgeons.

When Alecia Rubar began feeling intense abdominal pain after eating, she knew she had to see a doctor.

"It was extremely sharp pain, kind of like a lightning bolt from time to time and then once it would start it wouldn't stop, it would just kind of hold on," she said.

An ultrasound and nuclear scan showed the problem was Rubar's gallbladder.  She made the decision to have it removed, a procedure typically done laparoscopically through five small incisions.  Now, there is a less invasive option, says Lake Area Medical Center robotic surgeon, Dr. Niazy Selim.

"How about the five scars that we leave, we make it one scar hidden in the belly button, in the umbilicus, and the patient can wear her bikini and not show any scars later," said Dr. Selim.

With the single-site da Vinci gallbladder surgery, Dr. Selim sits at a console, viewing a 3D, high definition image of the patient's anatomy, then uses the hand controls to move the instrument arms and camera.

"When you move this way here, you can move this around and you turn right and left and you have it in all directions, you can move your instruments back in," said Dr. Selim.

Those movements are translated in real-time. 

"It translates your movements to fine movements," said Dr. Selim.  "It gives you back the degrees of freedom that you have lost in your hand movements doing laparoscopic surgery.

A patient undergoing a single-site robotic gallbladder removal will only be on the operating table for about 40 minutes and can go home that same day.

"I was back at work within a week," said Rubar.  "I went to work a couple of days after my procedure and worked all day, but as far as to be back full time, I was back in one week."

While Rubar is thrilled she does not have a visible scar from the procedure, she says being able to go home the same day, and get back to her normal groove just a couple of days later, sealed the deal for her.

"The recovery time was really short and there was very little use of narcotics or any pain medicine at all," said Rubar, "There wasn't a need, it was just more real sore feeling versus pain."

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