Single-Port Appendectomies - a First at Phelps - requires only one cmall incision and the scar is hidden

November 20, 2007

Dr. Har Chi Lau of Phelps Memorial Hospital Center recently performed one of the nation's first appendectomies using a groundbreaking surgical technique that requires only one small incision and hides the scar. Known as single port surgery, this less invasive laparoscopic method is very safe and offers significant medical, surgical and cosmetic advantages to the patient over more traditional surgical approaches. The method is so new that only a few of these surgeries have been performed in the U.S. to date.

Dr. Lau performed the single port emergency appendectomy by making just one 1.5 inch incision in the navel. The first surgery took place at Phelps in August. The patient was a 33-year-old man, who was able to go home the following day. Since then, Dr. Lau has continued to perform the procedure on other patients, when appropriate.

"We're very pleased to have the skill to make this important surgical advance available to the residents of Westchester County," said Dr. Lau. "Single port site appendectomy provides considerable health benefits for the patient. Besides being very safe, it's an easier surgery. There is less pain, the recovery time is quicker, the scar is smaller and it's hidden in the navel," he added. The smaller, hidden scar reduces patients' fears and concerns about their appearance after the surgery.

Surgeons have been performing laparoscopic appendectomies for quite some time. But the more "traditional" laparoscopic method typically requires three to four incisions that leave permanent scars. A laparoscope is a thin telescope attached to a video camera, which permits the surgeon to see the inside of the abdomen.

Phelps Memorial Hospital Center is a leader in laparoscopic surgery and is among the first hospitals in the Westchester County area to have performed laparoscopic adrenalectomy, spleenectomy and colectomy prior to appendectomies.

Dr. Lau practices at the Hudson Valley Surgical Group located on the Phelps hospital grounds at 777 North Broadway in Sleepy Hollow. He was graduated from The Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1992 and completed his general surgical training with the Allegheny University Hospitals in Philadelphia between 1992 and 1998. During this time, Dr. Lau had a surgical research fellowship and was involved in surgical research at the Allegheny Research facility in Philadelphia. He was associated with a multi-specialty group in Virginia for two years before coming to Westchester County, where he joined Dr. Robert Raniolo at the Hudson Valley Surgical Group. Dr. Lau is certified by the American Board of Surgery. He specializes in laparoscopic surgery.

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