SILS Port Approved: Going Laparoscopic With Three Holes in One

The FDA has given Covidien approval to market the firm’s SILS™ port (pictured) that allows surgeons to perform laparoscopic procedures with three instruments inserted through one incision. SILS™ procedures are performed with the help of proprietary articulating instruments, dubbed by Covidien Roticulator™ instruments.
From company’s press release:

The SILS(TM) Port is a single, flexible port that can be fitted through a small incision in the umbilicus which results in a single “hidden scar,” a cosmetic advance over the multiple visible scars associated with standard multi-port laparoscopy. The port has the capacity for up to three laparoscopic instruments.
“SILS(TM) Port is the first device specifically indicated for multiple instrument access to the abdomen through a single incision,” said Scott Flora, President, Surgical Devices, Covidien. “We led the first surgical revolution with multi-port laparoscopic surgery and Covidien is now leading the way again with SILS(TM) procedures and the new SILS(TM) Port, innovations that offer surgeons an immediate advancement in patient care,” he added.
Laparoscopic procedures performed through a single incision are a significant evolution in the world of surgery. While laparoscopy traditionally offers better patient outcomes including less pain and improved cosmesis than the open approach, SILS(TM) procedures have the potential to dramatically extend these benefits. The SILS(TM) Port is scheduled for commercialization in the United States and Europe later this year.

Video of a SILS™ cholecystectomy surgery and commentary By Dr. Michael Tarnoff – Associate Professor of Surgery, Tufts University School of Medicine; Attending Surgeon, Tufts Medical Center: