Robotic-assisted surgery returns Orland Park woman to her active lifestyle

Until this summer, Christine Abelseth, of Orland Park, had never had surgery, but that soon changed.

After years of discomfort, Christine opted to have her gallbladder removed using the da Vinci Si Surgical System, the most popular procedure done at Palos Community Hospital using the minimally invasive robotic-assisted system.

Getting to the source

The pain, which Christine felt in her back, was becoming “more consistent as time went on.” An ultrasound came back normal, but the pain continued. Her primary doctor sent her to Palos for a hepatobiliary (HIDA) scan, which is used to pinpoint problems in the liver, gallbladder and bile ducts.

During a HIDA scan, a radioactive chemical or tracer is injected through the arm. As the chemical works its way through the bloodstream to the liver, a special gamma camera is placed over the abdomen to take photos.

“The test mimics as if you’ve eaten a cheeseburger,” says Christine. “Once you have the injection, you start to feel different and you start to get the discomfort.”

After receiving the results, she knew she had to have surgery.

“I think my gallbladder was working at about 9 percent efficiency, which is nothing,” Christine says. “I knew it wasn’t going to get better and I didn’t want it to get worse. I’m a pretty healthy eater, but when I cheated that’s when I noticed it.”

In the United States, more than 1 million people have their gallbladder removed each year, with the disease affecting more women than men. The American College of Surgeons recommends removal as the treatment for pain resulting from gallstones and nonfunctioning gallbladders. 

Seeing the benefits

Thomas Vasdekas, M.D., performed the single-site cholecystectomy to remove Christine’s gallbladder.

“Clearly less incision is better as long as it’s safe and this single-incision process is safe,” says Dr. Vasdekas, who predicts the number of single-incision gallbladder surgeries using da Vinci to increase as more people talk about it and see the benefits.

Christine, 56, has seen those benefits firsthand. She was intrigued by the prospect of faster healing and minimal scarring. “I’m sure I’d really appreciate the tiny scar in my belly button if I were younger,” she jokes.

Still, she was a little surprised by the speed of her recovery. About a week after surgery she was taking her dog out for short walks and doing some light gardening. “I felt good days later. It was really that good.”

Dr. Vasdekas says the robotic system serves as an interface between the surgeon, the patient and the instruments.

Using the da Vinci, he made a one-inch incision through Christine’s navel to remove her gallbladder. Traditional laparoscopic surgeries require three to five small incisions, while an open surgery requires a five- to eight-inch incision.

During surgery, Dr. Vasdekas sat nearby at a console, controlling every move of the robot by directing the thin, specially designed robotic arms -- equipped with high-definition 3D cameras, intense magnification and surgical tools -- through the incision. The robotic “wrists” of the da Vinci provide a 360-degree rotation of surgical instruments, while the rest of the surgical team was at Christine’s side overseeing the procedure.

“This is true microsurgery. It’s so precise and such a finer surgery,” says Dr. Vasdekas, who also is a member of the Clinical Robotic Surgery Association. “With the robotics, you see advanced surgical technique available at the community hospital level. People don’t need to go far.”

The da Vinci at Palos

Palos welcomed the da Vinci Si High Definition Surgical Robot to the team in December 2012 and has performed more than 200 robotic-assisted surgeries. Procedures using da Vinci are general surgeries, including bowel and gallbladder; gynecological, including hysterectomy; and urological, including prostatectomy and nephrectomy.

Currently, there are 18 doctors at Palos specially trained to use the da Vinci Surgical System. And the number of doctors using the da Vinci is rapidly growing.  

“Adding the da Vinci to our surgical team has been quite a success in a short period of time,” says Tanya Brann, operations manager for Perioperative Services. “The number of surgeons performing robotic surgery at Palos increased by 35 percent in just 6 months, allowing more and more patients in our community to benefit from minimally invasive surgery.”