A bariatric surgeon in Southern California has successfully performed the first vertical sleeve gastrectomy using the new SPIDER Surgical System, requiring only one small incision through the belly button.
The Spider system is one of the latest innovations in minimally invasive weight loss surgery. The medical device eliminates the need for multiple incisions and allows surgeons to operate multiple instruments through a single, small incision about the same size as a dime.
The potential benefits of this new procedure for patients include less scarring, reduced post-operative pain, and a quicker recovery.
Approved by the FDA last year, the SPIDER Surgical System significantly advances minimally invasive surgery techniques and could greatly change how patients are treated across many types of surgical specialties. It was made available to hospitals in March 2010.
The medical device is produced by TransEnterix Inc of Durham, North Carolina. According to President and CEO Todd M. Pope, the company is doing more than introducing a new medical device; they are creating an entirely new category of surgery known as Flexible Laparoscopy.
The operation was performed by Brian B. Quebbemann M.D. FACS, surgical director at the N.E.W. Program weight loss center in Newport Beach. He said the Spider device made the operation easier.
According to a press release on the company website:
- “Surgeons insert the SPIDER Surgical System through a single incision located within the patient’s belly button. The system opens up umbrella-like within the abdomen, providing the surgeon with two flexible channels for right- and left-hand instruments with 360-degree range of motion, and two rigid channels for small cameras and other instruments. Once the procedure is completed, the SPIDER Surgical System closes up and is removed through the same incision.”
Although this was the first time the Spider system was used for a vertical sleeve gastrectomy, it has previously been used for laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, kidney and gall bladder removal, and colon surgery.
In 2009, the SPIDER Surgical System was recognized by the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons as an “Innovation of the Year.”
