A Norwood Hospital physician is believed to have been the first to perform single incision surgery at a Massachusetts Community Hospital when he removed a 45-year-old female patient’s gall bladder last week through a half-inch incision in the patient’s umbilicus (belly button).
Longtime Norwood Hospital surgeon Peter J. Lydon, MD, performed the single incision laparoscopic surgery gall bladder removal, called SILS (single incision laparoscopic surgery) cholecystectomy, a technically challenging procedure requiring specialized instruments and training. During the procedure, the gall bladder is separated from surrounding organs and tissues, the cystic duct between the gall bladder and liver is cut, and the gall bladder removed, all through a single half-inch incision.
“SILS is potentially advantageous over the conventional laparoscopic procedure for gall bladder removal because only a single incision is required, unlike the four incisions required otherwise,” Lydon said.
Lydon was among the first doctors in the area to specialize in conventional minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery in early 1990. These “keyhole” procedures use small incisions through which a video camera and surgical instruments are passed, rather than making one large incision to open the surgical area. Laparoscopic procedures reduce bleeding, risk of infection, pain, scarring, hospital stay and recovery time for many surgeries.
SILS takes advantage of technological improvement in a much smaller video camera and much smaller, more flexible instruments for cutting and suturing, dramatically increasing the already significant advantages of conventional laparoscopic surgery. With just one incision instead of four in the abdomen, the patient often does not even need pain medication after surgery and can return to work in just a few days, even more quickly than with conventional laparoscopic surgery. The single incision is hidden inside the belly button, with minimal scarring.
“We are very proud of Dr. Lydon and our surgeons. Their commitment to providing the most advanced surgical techniques means that patients can get care in their local communities,” said Margaret Hanson, RN, Norwood Hospital president.
Experts already are using single incision surgery for many other surgeries, including appendectomies, hernia repairs, weight-loss surgery, removal of all or part of the colon or stomach and procedures to prevent gastric reflux.
Lydon’s other clinical interests include colorectal surgery, breast surgery and complex, recurrent hernia surgeries. He has been a staff surgeon at Norwood Hospital for more than 20 years, also serving as the medical director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, charter member of the American Hernia Society and member of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons and Boston Surgical Society.
