Gallbladder Removal Just Got Easier

GALLBLADDER REMOVAL JUST GOT EASIER Augusta Health offers less-invasive surgery

Through an incision no bigger than 2 centimeters long, that problematic gallbladder that’s caused you so much discomfort is removed. Just a few weeks later, there’s very little in the way of a visible scar to remind you that you even had surgery.

This is Single-Incision Laparoscopic Surgery (SILS), now performed at Augusta Health.

Traditionally, the gallbladder is removed through a minimally invasive outpatient procedure called laparoscopic cholecystectomy, which involves making four small incisions in the abdominal area. A small camera is inserted into one of the incisions, while the other incisions allow entry for surgical instruments and exit for the gallbladder. Like most minimally invasive procedures, blood loss is minimal, there’s less pain and recovery time is quicker.

The new SILS procedure maintains all these advantages with one added benefit—a better cosmetic result. “The scar is hidden in the confines of the bellybutton,” says Blake McKibbin, MD, a general surgeon at Augusta Health who received special training in SILS. Except for the number of incisions, “It’s the exact same operation as traditional laparoscopic cholecystectomy and just as safe,” Dr. McKibbin says. Potential complications are the same as with laparoscopic cholecystectomy, including bleeding, infection and injury to the common bile duct. Both operations take about the same time—a little more than an hour.

As a general surgeon, Dr. McKibbin estimates that about 20 percent of his cases are cholecystectomies. “It’s the most common operation we do,” he says. That’s one of the reasons he decided to be trained in the SILS procedure. “I wanted to have the ability to offer my patients an alternative,” he says.

Like any medical procedure, though, SILS is not for everyone. Morbidly obese patients and those who would have no cosmetic benefit from the procedure (such as those with scarring from prior abdominal procedures) would be better candidates for laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

But from those patients who’ve had the SILS procedure, the feedback has been excellent. “My patients are amazed,” Dr. McKibbin says. “They love it.”