Medical tourism takes people around the world to find better options for surgery. The Washington, D.C. metro area is home to one of the most innovative laparoscopic GYN surgical practices. The Center for Innovative GYN Care travel program for advanced GYN procedures is good news for women who lack minimally invasive options closer to home.
Many women are told they are not candidates for minimally invasive procedures. Large fibroids, an enlarged uterus, age, weight and other factors can often lead physicians who may not have sufficient training in laparoscopic techniques to make recommendations for open or robotic procedures, often recommending hysterectomies over myomectomies. For women who are not done childbearing, this can be devastating. Traveling for better surgical techniques is now an option.
Advances in laparoscopic techniques by the surgical specialists at The Center for Innovative GYN Care have redefined minimally invasive surgery, making it possible to treat ALL GYN conditions in an outpatient setting.
Dr. Paul MacKoul, MD and Dr. Natalya Danilyants, MD have performed over 20,000 procedures, treating women from all corners of the world.
The two surgical techniques developed by the specialists at CIGC are DualPortGYN and LAAM. With DualPortGYN and LAAM, patients experience some of the most advanced GYN procedures, and recover faster with less pain.
DualPortGYN is an innovation in laparoscopic GYN surgery. Two tiny 5MM incisions are used, one at the belly button, and one at the bikini line. Using an advanced technique called retroperitoneal dissection, the surgeons are able to visualize and protect the pelvic cavity from injury. Combined with uterine artery ligation to control blood loss, procedures are performed efficiently and safely, and recovery is much faster. DualPortGYN can be used for hysterectomies, resection of endometriosis, resection of pelvic adhesions, cancer, ovarian cysts and pelvic masses.
LAAM (Laparoscopic Assisted Abdominal Myomectomy) combines the thoroughness of an open procedure with the benefits of laparoscopy. One 5MM incision at the belly button and another incision that is an inch and a half at the bikini line allows the CIGC surgeons to feel the fibroids in the uterus so they can be identified and removed. A doctor using a robot cannot feel the fibroids. It is essential for fertility treatments that the uterus is reconstructed properly. The advantage of LAAM is that the incisions can be sutured by hand, ensuring they are secure.
Hysterectomies should never have to be performed open. Complex conditions like an enlarged uterus or large fibroids pose a challenge to many physicians. At CIGC, DualPortGYN procedures allow patients with challenging conditions to have minimally invasive surgery and leave the same day. Recovery can begin in the comfort of your home or for traveling patients, your hotel room.
Myomectomies (removal of fibroids) are not less invasive than hysterectomies. The procedure is performed to preserve the uterus for fertility, which means it needs to be reconstructed after fibroids are removed to ensure it is able to conceive.
Other GYN surgical procedures can always be performed with minimally invasive techniques if done by a GYN surgical specialist. Finding the best surgeon is critical to having a procedure done well.
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