It
wasn’t the alarm that woke Laura Ryan at 3 a.m.; it was
severe abdominal pain. The uncomfortable feeling worsened,
accompanied by nausea and shoulder pain. As a physician
assistant, she knew the symptoms meant gallbladder problems
and a visit to the emergency department.
Ryan called a friend to drive her to Methodist Dallas
Medical Center. Her first test was an ultrasound, but she was
surprised when it didn’t show gallstones. She was admitted
for observation and an advanced hepatobiliary scan, which
identified that her gallbladder wasn’t functioning. This
condition required an emergency cholecystectomy, or
gallbladder removal.
For all her time spent in a medical profession, Ryan herself
had never had major surgery.
“It’s tough to be a medical provider and a patient,” she says.
“But I felt at ease with my surgeon, Dr. Mejia, and glad that he
had the technology on hand to support his skills.”
Skill on her side
For gallbladder removal specifically, Ryan’s surgeon at
Methodist Dallas, Alejandro Mejia, MD, FACS,
chose to perform one of the latest techniques in
minimally invasive surgery: Single-Site™.
Assisted by the robotic da Vinci® Surgical
System, Dr. Mejia was able to remove
Ryan’s gallbladder via only one
small incision hidden in the
natural contours of the
belly button, compared to
traditional laparoscopy’s
multiple incisions.
“Surgeons like Single-
Site,” Dr. Mejia says. “It
offers less pain and, with
one incision site, reduces
risk of infection.
“The robot’s enhanced imaging
capabilities also provide better
viewing, making it safer for the patient.”
Faster recovery was important
Ryan’s symptoms were gone after surgery. She went home
the next morning with little pain. While her condition was
an emergency situation, for someone deciding whether to
have gallbladder surgery or not, she encourages them to
consider Single-Site.
“You forget that you use abdominal muscles in everything
you do until you have abdominal surgery, so it was better for
me to have only one incision rather than multiple,” she says.
“I was slightly sore for a week but didn’t need pain pills.”
Ryan was in the process of getting ready to take her board
recertification exam when she got sick. She worried about lost
study time and was relieved that the Single-Site procedure
quickly got her back to the books.
Laura Ryan (center) didn't need to miss much time having fun with friends,
thanks to minimally invasive Single-Site™ gallbladder removal at Methodist Dallas.
One small incision means less pain, faster recovery, more time for what matters
TODA VINCI
12
Methodist Dallas Medical Center
•
❁
Spring 2014
