A medical-device company in North Carolina and bariatric surgeon Dr. Brian B. Quebbemann of Newport Beach, CA, have teamed up for weight-loss surgery requiring just one incision, reports the Orange County Register.
The operation marks the first time a surgeon has used a Spider surgical tool for this form of bariatric surgery. The Spider system by TransEnterix Inc. enables operation through the belly button, using a tool containing working arms that unfold inside the patient. The operation is called vertical sleeve gastrectomy. It is used most frequently used to treat severely obese patients and is an alternative to gastric bypass and Lap-Band operations.
The device has previously been used for Lap-Band placement, colon surgery, and for kidney and gallbladder removals. The vertical-sleeve operation was performed at the Advanced Surgical Partners Surgery Center in Costa Mesa.