FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Joe M. Grillo Jennifer Forgione
Nicolazzo & Associates Saints Medical Center
(617) 951-0000 (978)-458-1411
jgrillo@nicolazzo.com jforgione@saintsmedicalcenter.com
SAINTS MEDICAL CENTER PERFORMS FIRST
LAPAROSCOPIC GALLBLADDER SURGERY USING
NEXT GENERATION MEDICAL PROCEDURE
Operation Performed Though Belly Button; Patients Experience
Much Less Pain and 95 Percent Have No Visible Scar At All;
Other Procedures Targeted for Future
LOWELL, Mass., Oct. 19, 2009 – Expanding its suite of leading edge surgical procedures, Saints Medical Center announced the successful completion of its first surgery using next generation laparoscopic medical technology. The procedure, known as a cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal), was performed by Dr. Wassim Mazraany of Lowell.
The female patient in her 40s, who was suffering from cholecystitis, was able to leave the hospital only four hours after surgery instead of the three- to seven-day stay that is common with standard open surgery for a similar condition. Using the state-of-the art Covidien SILS™ medical technique, Dr. Mazraany removed the gallbladder through the patient’s belly button.
Since the initial surgery, Dr. Mazraany and his team have performed more than 20 similar operations. Additionally, Dr. Mazraany has removed an appendix using this same technique and, going forward, intends to perform the surgery on certain patients with bowel and colon conditions.
“With the successful completion of this procedure, Saints Medical Center is now equipped to offer patients the most advanced form of laparoscopic cholecystectomy and other surgeries. One of the major advantages of the procedure is that it needs only one very small access point, ultimately resulting in the potential for no visible scar. By comparison, a traditional laparoscopic surgery of this type involves four incisions up to a half-inch that often leave scars. There is also much less post-operative pain. And, when examined six weeks after surgery, 95 percent of patients see no scar at all.”
Ms. Jennifer Forgione, Saints Physician Practice Manager, said, “We are pleased to be at the forefront of a new kind of surgery that continues to transform minimally invasive technology. Operations that use techniques like SILS™ are instrumental in fulfilling our mission of providing the latest advancements in medicine and best patient outcomes.”
Very Small Incision
According to the National Digestive Disease Information Clearinghouse, approximately 500,000 gallbladder surgeries are performed each year in the United States, with the vast majority (80%) done with multiple incisions. Using the new technique available at Saints, surgeons can make a single 20mm incision through the belly button. An incision of this size is slightly smaller than the diameter of a nickel. Some 80 percent of these surgeries are performed on women.
The gallbladder is a small pear-shaped organ located in the upper abdomen beneath the bladder. While the gallbladder’s main function (to store bile product by the liver and release it for digestion) is important to the body, it is not essential. Surgery is usually performed for the treatment of gallstones, small formations of cholesterol and bile salts within the gallbladder. The procedure reduces inflammation and relieves the pain.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) estimates that approximately 20 million adults in the U.S. have gallstones, with an estimated one million new cases diagnosed each year. The NIH also says gallstones are the most common and costly digestive disease, with an annual estimated treatment cost of more than $5 billion.
About Saints Medical Center
Saints Medical Center is a nonprofit, full service, acute care community hospital serving Greater Lowell and the Merrimack Valley since 1839. A 163-bed licensed medical center, Saints provides advanced health services to 315,000 residents in 25 towns. With nearly 400 physicians and 1,400 employees, Saints Medical Center is well known for outstanding medical care and patient-centered facilities including its Centers of Excellence in Cancer Care, Orthopedics, Cardiovascular Services and Women’s Health. Saints also offers community-based care at several ambulatory sites and is dedicated to promoting health and wellness in the community. Saints has a clinical affiliation with the leading Boston academic medical centers and is proud to be one of the top-rated hospitals in Massachusetts according to The Joint Commission.
