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Single-Port Surgery for Weight Loss and Gallbladder Removal

Dr. Jiser Single Port Surgery (smaller)A remarkable new minimally invasive ­approach to surgery is now available at Lowell General Hospital. It's called single-port laparoscopic surgery, and the surgeon operates through a single incision in the patient's belly button. As a result, there's no visible scar after surgery since it's almost completely hidden inside the belly button.

"For patients who want to minimize scarring, the single-port approach is a good option," says Lowell General's Chief of General Surgery Michael Jiser, MD, who pioneered the procedure at the hospital.

Dr. Jiser has been using the single-port technique for gastric banding surgery since July 2009, making Lowell General the first community hospital in the region to employ this advanced technique in weight-loss surgery. He is also using it for gallbladder removal, and has performed more than 100 of these procedures at Lowell General since March of 2009 ­ making him the most experienced single-port laparoscopic surgeon in the Merrimack Valley.

Traditional laparoscopic surgery for gastric banding (a surgical approach to weight loss that reduces the size of the stomach) requires at least five incisions, and gallbladder removal requires four, in order to insert all the necessary surgical instruments and a special camera to view the structures
inside the abdomen. But with the single-port surgery, the special instruments and camera are guided through just one incision in the belly button.

"The single-port technique is more technically challenging because your instruments are working in line," Dr. Jiser explains. "But with training, experience and appropriate patient selection, outcomes are excellent. And patients appreciate the cosmetic benefit of a virtually scarless procedure."

Fewer incisions also can minimize patient ­discomfort and shorten healing time.

Integrated OR #2"With only one incision, my post-surgical care was less complicated and even my discomfort was minimized. This enabled me to recover quicker," says Kim Gagnon of Nashua who had her gallbladder removed with the single-hole technique.

Who's a candidate for this advanced surgical technique? Most patients who are candidates for traditional laparoscopic gastric band placement or gallbladder removal are appropriate candidates for the single-port approach, according to Dr. Jiser.

"Since the chief benefit of the single-port surgery is cosmetic, however, we select patients carefully and sensibly, on a case-by-case basis, to minimize risk," he notes.

The single-port laparoscopic surgery is performed in the two new, fully-integrated surgical suites at Lowell General Hospital.

Learn more about all the Surgical Specialties performed at Lowell General.

Read about our Center for Weight Management and Bariatric Surgery. 

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