AdventHealth Surgeons Offer Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery for Liver Tumors and Cancer
If you are in need of surgery for liver cancer or large, benign liver tumors, you might be pleased to know that you may qualify for a procedure that is much less invasive than traditional open surgery. Surgeons at the AdventHealth Digestive Institute are regional and national leaders in minimally invasive surgery. In fact, AdventHealth Digestive Institute is one of the nation's top centers in terms of robotic liver surgery volumes. Our expert surgeon Dr. Iswanto Sucandy offers minimally invasive liver resection – removing a portion or a lobe of the liver – using the da Vinci® Surgical System, a surgical robot. Treatment results are the same as with a more invasive procedure. However, there are several benefits to robotic liver resection.
Advantages of Minimally Invasive Liver Resection
Faster recovery. Most patients leave the hospital within three days of surgery. A minimally invasive approach lowers their chance of having complications with their heart and lungs after surgery. Faster recovery from liver resection also means that cancer patients who need chemotherapy after surgery can begin it sooner.
Reduced blood loss. With minimally invasive liver resection, blood transfusion is rarely needed – even in major cases.
Less pain. Most patients experience little pain and have minimal requirement for narcotics even after a major liver resection.
Less chance for wound infection. Because the procedure uses small incisions, the chance of developing a surgical wound infection is significantly lower (less than 1%) compared to an open liver resection involving large incisions.
Less hernia formation. The best way to prevent an incisional hernia formation is to avoid creating a large open incision. Surgery performed through small incisions does this.
Better cosmetic results. The surgery involves six small incisions rather than three large ones. The small incisions are likely to heal completely with minimal scarring.
How Robotic Removal of Liver Lesions Works
The goal of liver resection is to remove the tumor as well as some of the healthy tissue surrounding it. This makes it more likely that the entire tumor will be removed. The liver can regenerate itself and needs only part of its tissue to function. However, liver surgery requires a highly skilled surgeon who can make sure key blood vessels, as well as the hepatic bile duct, stay intact.
Tumors located on the edge of the liver can often be taken out with a wedge resection. This involves removing only a small portion of the liver. Larger tumors and those located deep in the liver may require a lobectomy. This surgery involves removing the entire liver lobe, right or left, that contains the tumor. The surgeons at AdventHealth Digestive Institute can perform both wedge resection and lobectomy for liver tumors with a robotic procedure.
After surgery, the remaining part of the liver will regenerate. The liver will grow back within three weeks, even if up to 70 percent of it has been surgically removed.
Who Can Have Robotic Liver Resection
A minimally invasive approach to liver surgery is ideal for most patients. An AdventHealth surgeon can determine if this approach is right for you based on your tumor’s:
Size
Location within the liver
Closeness to major blood vessels or bile duct structures
For cancer patients, the faster recovery given by minimally invasive surgery means that their next stage of treatment can begin sooner. Even patients being treated with chemotherapy for their primary tumors or other cancers can usually tolerate liver resection very well.
Liver Disease and Hepatology
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Liver Cancer
AdventHealth Digestive Institute surgeons offer surgical and non-surgical liver cancer treatments, depending on your specific case. Schedule an appointment with one of our gastroenterologists.
Removing the gallbladder with cancer is a very complex surgery that requires highly experienced surgeons like those at AdventHealth Digestive Institute.
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Surgical Consultations For Digestive Cancer Without The Wait
Appointments Within Five Days for Patients with Cancer
At AdventHealth Digestive Institute, we know that after being diagnosed with cancer, patients want and often need to begin treatment quickly. So we make it a priority to offer appointments for cancer surgery consultations within five business days, and often earlier.
Patients who are newly diagnosed with cancer, or have just found out they have cancer again, qualify for this priority access. Our surgeons will make themselves available to see you right away, even for a second opinion. We want to help you start your treatment as soon as possible.
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