At the recently concluded annual meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons in San Antonio, TX, investigators presented the interim results collected at 11 centers evaluating Covidien‘s SILS single incision laparoscopic port. The multicenter clinical trial looked at safety and cosmetic outcomes in laparoscopic cholecystectomy, comparing SILS single incision laparoscopic port versus the traditional four ports:
From the announcement:
The 111 patients who underwent gall bladder surgery with the single incision approach reported significantly better cosmetic outcomes up to three months after their procedures, compared to the group whose surgeons used four laparoscopic ports. The pain scores between the two groups were within one point of each other on a 10 point visual analog scale rendering pain as clinically similar between the two groups. Surgeons, on average, took 12 minutes longer to perform the gall bladder surgery with the single-port approach (57 vs. 45 min., p<0.0001), but there was no difference in blood loss during the operation.
Press release: Covidien Announces Interim Data Showing Single Incision Gall Bladder Surgery with SILS(TM) Port Associated with Improved Cosmetic Outcome Compared to Four-Port Laparoscopic Approach
Flashbacks: SILS Port Approved: Going Laparoscopic With Three Holes in One; Covidien Announces Launch of SILS Stitch Articulating Suturing Device; Single Incision Abdominal Laparoscopy from Covidien