Meet the Next Frontier in Minimally Invasive Procedures
September 22, 2021
The surgery to remove a woman’s uterus is called a hysterectomy. It can be performed for any number of reasons, including uterine fibroids, unusual vaginal bleeding and uterine cancer, to name a few.
Each year in the United States, more than half a million women have a hysterectomy, according to the National Institutes of Health, making it one of the 10 most common U.S. surgeries and the second-most common surgery for women*.
LESS Surgery
When former Registered Nurse Graciela Gracia began experiencing pelvic pain, she went straight to her doctor, who ultimately recommended a partial hysterectomy. Gracia was hesitant at first, knowing that a traditional hysterectomy can potentially result in scarring and a long recovery time.
But Padraic Chisholm, MD, Gracia’s obstetrician-gynecologist, had another solution. He recommended LESS (laparo-endoscopic single-site hysterectomy) surgery for Gracia. During this procedure, the surgeon makes a tiny incision through the belly button and performs the procedure entirely through that small incision, rendering any scarring nearly undetectable.
In addition to the cosmetic advantages of “No Scar Surgery,” other benefits to the patient can include less pain, a shorter hospital stay, decreased risk of infection and a faster recovery time.**
LESS surgery turned out to be the right choice for Gracia. “The two benefits that I feel are the most important are the no scar and the quick recovery time,” she says. “By the second day I was discharged and, after that, I really didn’t experience any pain at all,” she adds. “Within two weeks I felt like I was 100% recovered. It was a good recovery experience.”
*womenshealth.gov
**Individual results may vary. There are risks associated with any surgical procedure. Talk with your doctor about these risks to find out if minimally invasive surgery is right for you.