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January 2, 2013
General
VISALIA – Single-site gall bladder surgery is now being
performed at Kaweah Delta Medical Center and is the latest application of the
district’s robotic surgery system.
Dr. Abiy
Meshesha, MD, FACS, is the only surgeon performing single-site gall bladder
surgery using the daVinci® Si robotic surgery system in Tulare County and is one of two
surgeons performing it in the Central Valley. Prior to gall bladder
surgery, the daVinci® had been used for urological and gynecological procedures
at Kaweah Delta. To date, nearly 400 surgical procedures have been performed
using the daVinci® at Kaweah Delta.
“I wanted to start performing this type of surgery at Kaweah
Delta because there is a dedicated robotic surgery team, which is vital to the
success of the program,” Meshesha said. “I’m impressed that Kaweah Delta has
embraced this technology because it benefits patients.”
Other surgeons performing robotic surgery at Kaweah Delta
include:
Gynecologic Surgery
Andrea Boone, M.D.
G. Blaine Lake, M.D.
John Morin, M.D.
Mark Wiseman, M.D.
Urologic Surgery
Joseph Chidi, M.D.
Tu-Hi Hong, M.D.
Marty Prah, M.D.
By adding Dr. Meshesha to the team, patients benefit, says
Wendy Heatherly, Robotic Program Coordinator and Registered Nurse First
Assistant.
“We have an increasingly diverse group of surgeons qualified
to take care of our patients locally with the daVinci®,” Heatherly said. “We
have already had cases where two surgeons have been able to work
collaboratively using the robot on one patient.”
Gall bladder surgery is one of the most common surgical
procedures and is often performed to alleviate pain. In single-site gall
bladder surgery, the surgeon enters the abdomen to remove the gallbladder
through a one-inch incision in a person’s belly button, leaving the person
without a scar. Using the daVinci® for single-site gall bladder surgery
provides the surgeon with enhanced surgical precision, control and stability of
the camera system along with 3D and HD visualization. Shorter hospital
stays, less pain, less risk of infection, fewer transfusions, less scarring,
faster recovery and a quicker return to normal daily activities are the
benefits that patients have experienced when they have a daVinci® surgical
procedure.
Symptoms that can prompt gall bladder surgery include stones
in the gall bladder, nausea, vomiting, yellowing in the eyes, and pain in a
person’s right side, back or shoulder among other things.
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