Scarless and Stitchless Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery (SILS)- A boon for Female Patients

By Medical Expert Team

Nov 08 , 2020 | 2 min read

Do you know that a traditional gallbladder surgery requires a 6-inch incision and a Standard laparoscopic gallbladder surgery, though less invasive, still requires four incisions?

The newest advancement in gallbladder surgery is Single-Incision Laparoscopic Surgery (SILS), which replaces four incisions with a single incision in the belly button. The SILS technique is cosmetically preferable, particularly to younger female patients, especially since the single small incision means less pain for the patient, less chance of injury to other organs, no visible scar, and faster recovery. Patients with no complications are often discharged the same day after the laparoscopic procedure. This technique is now being used for Appendix and Hernia removal as well.

This surgery of the uterus has evolved from traditional abdominal /vaginal hysterectomy to LAVH (laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy) to TLH (total laparoscopic hysterectomy). And now with the modern day advancements of surgical techniques, single port scarless uterus removal is now a reality. There are innumerable advantages of laparoscopic surgery including decreased post-operative pain, lesser hospital stays, quicker recovery and return to normal physical activities, reduced blood loss, no large scars and fewer wound complications.

Lately minimally invasive Gynae surgery has become a dependable line of treatment for many benign and cancerous gynaecological conditions as well, and this has improved the complication rate as compared to the traditional open abdominal surgeries. Post-surgery adhesions (no direct handling of intra-abdominal organs) are less hence lower complications and if any other surgery is required later in life it is much easier.

What are the advantages of Single Port Hysterectomy?

Talking about the newest advancements in Gynae Surgery, Dr. Kanwarjit Singh Dhillon says, that single port hysterectomy SILS (single incision/cut laparoscopic surgery):

Replaces three to four port/incision made in standard laparoscopy with just one incision of less than 1cm in the belly button.
It leads to no scar – and is also called SCARLESS\STITCHLESS HYSTERECTOMY.
It is a day care procedure with the high cosmetic score and minimal pain.
There is a less risk of infection and injury to abdominal wall nerves and blood vessels.
The post-operative requirement for antibiotics and pain killers is reduced. The patient can quickly resume the work and is more cost effective.

Nowadays well informed, NRI patients, models and film stars are opting for this particular type of operation.

Benefits of Single Incision Surgery as compared to traditional surgeries

	Open Surgery	3-5 Incision Laparoscopy	Single Incision Laparoscopy
Incision/Cut Size	LARGE (8- 10CM)	3-4 PUNCTURES OF 5-10MM	SINGLE<1CM
Recovery Time	2-3 WEEKS	5-10 DAYS	1-2DAYS
Blood Loss/Blood Vessel Injury	MORE	LESS	MINIMAL
Scar/Cosmesis	UGLY	PRESENT MAY BE UGLY	SCARLESS EXCELLENT COSMESIS
Hernia and Infection	COMMON	LESS	VERY MINIMAL
Pain/Nerve Damage	SEVERE AND COMMON	MODERATE AND COMMON	VERY MINIMAL

Stitchless Single Incision Laparoscopic Hysterectomy is a better and safe procedure for uterus removal but can only be done by a team of experienced team of surgeons.