Early experience with single incision transumbilical laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding using the SILS Port™

BackgroundThe rapid progression of single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) into the realm of advanced surgical procedures has been fueled in recent years by the development of flexible instrumentation necessary to restore triangulation lost in the divergent nature of this approach, and multichannel ports that addressed the challenges regarding the limited range of movement of trocars in close proximity. We herein are reporting our early experience using the SILS Port™ to perform single incision transumbilical laparoscopic gastric banding in five of our patients.MethodsFive carefully selected female patients (body mass indices between 35 and 45 kg/m2 with peripheral obesity) underwent laparoscopic gastric banding using this single incision transumbilical technique. The same surgeon performed all surgical interventions. For all five patients, the same perioperative protocol and operative techniques were implemented.ResultsA total of five single incision transumbilical laparoscopic gastric banding procedures were successfully performed using this technique. Mean operative time was 111 min. There were no mortalities or postoperative complications noted during the mean follow-up period of 1.5 months.ConclusionSingle incision transumbilical laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding using SILS Port™ is a safe and feasible evolving approach. The intraumbilical location of the implanted port facilitates access for subsequent adjustments and provides patients with an improved cosmetic outcome.