April 4, 2008 - SurgiQuest Inc. today announced the first true single port laparoscopic procedure utilizing the AirSeal access system.
At Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, David Earle, M.D., director of minimally invasive surgery, performed a gallbladder removal procedure through a single 12mm access port in the umbilicus (belly button). The AirSeal system creates an invisible barrier that does not rely on gaskets or seals. This provides unobstructed access to the cavity without loosing intra-abdominal pressure and enabled Dr .Earle to simultaneously utilize up to three instruments through a single 12mm port.
“As we move toward performing surgical procedures in a less invasive way, maintenance of patient safety is our primary concern,” Dr. Earle said. “Use of the AirSeal access system allowed me to use multiple standard instruments through a single lumen port, reducing the number of incisions we had to make from four to one. Due to its unique ability to maintain a seal with no mechanical barrier, many obstacles to standard laparoscopy were overcome. This type of platform technology will not only change the way we think about minimally invasive surgery, it will change the way we do it.”
For more information: www.surgiquest.com