By Kaitlin Motley
Review Staff Intern
Some people may argue that there is no such thing as ‘minor? abdominal surgery.
Then what would you call a hysterectomy that takes under an hour, leaves patients with centimeters of scars instead of inches and involves a recovery period of hours rather than weeks?
Well if there’s no such thing as minor abdominal surgery, then at Bald Mountain Surgical Center, it just got a lot less major.
Continued advances in hysterectomy surgery have transformed what was once a lengthy hospital stay into a simple outpatient procedure.
Dr. Jonathon Zaidan, of Women’s Healthcare Associates, began performing laparoscopic hysterectomies this summer at Bald Mountain Surgical Center.
In these procedures, the surgeon inserts a viewing instrument called a laparoscope through a small incision in the abdomen.
Other incisions may be made for inserting surgical instruments.
The result is less invasive than open surgery and minimizes blood loss and recovery time.
Compared to the traditional, open-abdomen hysterectomy, Bald Mountain Surgical Center Administrator Annette Bak-Lopez said it’s night and day.
‘We were very amazed because our initial plan was to let patients have the bulk of the day here to recover,? she said. ‘Our first patient woke up still in the operating room and asked if the surgery was over yet, and was in recovery for just under two hours.?
She added that because Bald Mountain is not considered a hospital, patients have more freedom in recovery.
‘Hospital protocol keeps ladies for 23 hours,? she said. ‘Ours go home. Every patient prefers to recover in their own environment, and that’s the whole point of laparoscopic surgery.?
Dr. Zaidan has performed three laparoscopic hysterectomies so far this summer, including a patient from China, who he says wouldn’t have had the opportunity for the surgery if not for the short recovery that allowed her to return home in a matter of two weeks.
‘I’d prefer to have surgery laparoscopically every time,? said Breann Perez, in the recovery room drinking water two-and-a-half hours after receiving the surgery. ‘I have barely any pain. My pain level is like a two. That’s nothing.?
Though so far the results have been overwhelmingly positive, Bak-Lopez said laparoscopic hysterectomies are not for everyone.
‘Patients are chosen very carefully so that they have that [positive] outcome,? she said, noting that patients with fibroids and adhesion are not good candidates.
Bald Mountain Surgical Center opened just over a year ago as an ambulatory surgical center, housing outpatient procedures in many medical fields, including ophthalmology, gastroenterology, orthopedics, and plastics.
More information on the Bald Mountain Surgical Center is available by calling (248)693-7950 or visit www.baldmountainsurgicalcenter.com.