News & Publications

Albany Med First in Region to Offer Single Port Surgery

ALBANY, N.Y., October 2, 2008—Minimally invasive surgery at Albany Medical Center is now even less invasive. T. Paul Singh, M.D., director of minimally invasive surgery at Albany Medical Center, has recently begun removing gall bladders through a single incision in the naval. This latest technique, referred to as single port surgery, is currently only offered at Albany Med.

 “Single-port surgery represents an evolution in the field of minimally invasive surgery,” said Singh, who explains that in traditional laparoscopic surgery, which has been performed for the past decade as an alternative to open surgery, a telescopic rod connected to a video camera, or laparoscope, is inserted through a small incision in the abdomen. Three to five additional incisions are made and used as “ports,” where the other necessary surgical instruments are inserted. Conversely in single-port surgery, smaller, more flexible instruments enter the naval through the same port, producing numerous benefits to the patient.

“For the same length of stay or less, patients are experiencing even less discomfort, and are returning to work sooner with reduced down time for recovery,” said Singh. “Since the incision is made through the naval, there is little to no scarring, and less risk of infection.”

Singh has performed nearly a dozen single-port gall bladder surgeries since May, and anticipates that this advancement will continue to present new opportunities.

 “As the technology continues to improve, we will be able to do more and more complex surgeries using this technique, such as donor nephrectomies (kidney removals) and appendectomies,” said Singh, who has also begun performing laproscopic gastric bypass surgery using three ports as opposed to five.

Patients who are eligible for laparoscopic surgery also may be good candidates for single-port procedures. Patients who are morbidly obese or who already have had multiple major abdominal surgeries may not be eligible, as both conditions may limit visibility and movement inside the abdomen.

Albany Medical Center is northeastern New York’s only academic health sciences center. It consists of Albany Medical College, Albany Medical Center Hospital and the Albany Medical Center Foundation, Inc. Additional information about Albany Medical Center can be found at www.amc.edu.
- 30 -