Where’s the Scar? Patient’s Story: Robotic Dual Surgery.

Jeff Klass is an engineer in Saginaw. He’s also only 46.

Klass likes to swim, run, lift weights, and overall considers himself a fairly active person. Klass had hernia issues for some time, but they did not get in the way of his active life. “I had hernia issues for years, but was able to do everything I wanted to, so we put off the hernia surgery. Overtime, I began having issues with my gall bladder.” The pain caused by his gallbladder would last longer with each episode. “At the time, I travelled a lot for work… I knew I had to do something.”

When his doctor told him he should have his gall bladder removed, Klass asked his surgeon a question.  “I asked if it was possible, and if there would be any advantage, to having my gall bladder removed and the hernia fixed at the same time.” 

Dr. Maher Ghanem, surgeon with CMU Health Division of Surgery, practices at the Covenant HealthCare Center for Advanced Robotic Surgery. He says, individually, these procedures are very simple, however, the exact procedure of fixing a hernia and removing a gall bladder is very rare. “Dual surgeries are not as common.” However, it was possible and there are advantages. “The fact that a person can have two major surgeries at one time is a benefit to the patient- no increased risk, fewer surgical site incisions, and the recovery time and hospital stay are less than if a patient had two separate surgeries.”  

Klass had his hernia fixed and gall bladder removed in the same surgery; and went home the same day.

“The first few days were rough, but 2.5 weeks after surgery I was in the pool again swimming 1 mile. About three weeks after surgery, I was running again.” And now that he is a few months past the surgery, he can’t think of any restrictions he has.

There is an added cosmetic benefit to robotic surgery as well. “If you didn’t know I had surgery, you wouldn’t even see the incision,” says Klass.

“For Jeff, we did both surgeries robotically through one incision 2.5 cm wide directly above his belly button,” says Dr. Ghanem. “In the past to perform both of these surgeries laproscopically, we would have had to place up to seven ports [in the abdomen].”

For those with a technical mind, a representative from Intuitive, the maker of the da Vinci Robot, says this surgery is the first single site multi-quadrant robotic surgery in Michigan.

“Single site robotics is still growing; there are many applications for this in the future,” says Dr. Ghanem.

For more information on robotic surgery at Covenant visit www.covenantroboticsurgery.com.