Dr. Christopher Schlachta, first in Canada to perform single-site gallbladder removal

On September 13, 2013 Dr. Christopher Schlachta, professor, Division of General Surgery, performed a da Vinci single-site cholecystectomy, or gallbladder removal, at London Health Sciences Centre, and is the first in Canada to do so.

"Traditional laparoscopic surgery is performed through four small incisions," said Dr. Schlachta. "With a single-site robotic surgery, the gallbladder is removed through a single small incision, hidden in the belly button, and patients experience virtually scarless results." The first patient to receive this surgical procedure fully recovered in two days, without any scarring.

Dr. Schlachta believes this approach can be successfully applied to more complex surgeries, "This technology represents an exciting evolution in robotic surgery. In 25 years, we have gone from big incisions, to a series of small incisions for each of the surgeon's hands, to this development of just one small, hidden incision. This is a whole new world that we plan to apply to even more complex surgeries including colorectal cancer surgery, anti-reflux surgery, kidney surgery, as well as pancreatic and liver surgeries."

Read more about this Canadian first here.