“Would you rather have four incisions or one?” Matthew Lublin, MD, a laparoscopic surgeon at Saint John’s Health Center, recently asked Kelly, his 28- year-old patient who needed gallbladder surgery. It’s no surprise that she opted for the latest development in laparoscopic surgery—single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS).

Laparoscopic surgery is a minimally invasive surgical procedure often used to treat digestive problems. Instead of one large incision, the surgeon typically makes four or more small incisions in the abdomen through which surgical instruments and a thin, lighted tube known as a laparoscope are inserted. The laparoscope transmits pictures to a video monitor as the surgeon performs the operation. In single-incision laparoscopic surgery, the laparoscope and all of the instruments are inserted through one small incision within the navel.

Studies show patients who undergo laparoscopic surgery instead of open surgery experience reduced postoperative pain, shorter hospital stays and a quicker return to normal physical activities and work. A study published in Surgical Endoscopy, the journal of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, in April 2008 found a 50 percent reduction in hospital- acquired infection rates and a 65 percent reduction in hospital readmissions for patients who had laparoscopic procedures compared to those who had “Laparoscopy is continuing to evolve technologically, and single-incision laparoscopic surgery shows great promise for patients eligible for minimally invasive surgery,” explained Dr. Lublin. “With Kelly, I was able to make a single incision through her belly button to remove her gallbladder.” 

Kelly enthusiastically endorses the procedure. “I had gallbladder pain for a couple of years after my pregnancy, and I was looking for the least amount of cutting when I knew I had to have this surgery,” she said. Kelly was in surgery by 5 a.m. and home by noon the same day. Three days later she was back at work. “I had no stitches, nothing to worry about and the quality of my life has greatly improved,” Kelly said. 

Among only a few surgeons in the nation—and the only one in Los Angeles— performing the SILS procedure, Dr. Lublin anticipates that more surgeons will use SILS to remove gallbladders, appendixes and parts of the colon, rather than the standard four to six skin incisions used during standard laparoscopic surgery. “What’s exciting about SILS is that because there are fewer incisions, there is less chance of infection, less scarring and much better cosmetic results,” Dr. Lublin said. “And that means my patients can recover that much faster. That’s a win-win.”