da Vinci® Surgery for Gallbladder Disease

Patients who are suffering from gallbladder disease, often have severe, uncomfortable symptoms. When this happens, many physicians recommend removing the gallbladder. This procedure is called a cholecystectomy, and it is one of the most common medical procedures as more than 700,000 cholecystectomies is performed in the United States each year. Elijah Mobley M.D. treats many people in Victorville and Apple Valley by removing their gallbladder, but he prefers to use the da Vinci® Surgical System to complete this procedure rather than more traditional, open techniques.

The traditional open surgical technique for removing the gallbladder requires the surgeon make an incision between 5-8 centimeters long at the site of the gallbladder. This often results in a painful recovery for the patient and is not the most desirable option. Patients can opt to have laparoscopic surgery for this procedure, which requires the surgeon to make several smaller incisions and remove the gallbladder through a long, rigid instrument that has an attached camera.

While both of these types of procedures will get the results the patient needs, there is a better way to maneuver this surgery. Dr. Mobley prefers to use the da Vinci® Surgical System to complete a cholecystectomy. The da Vinci® Surgical System is a robotic surgery system that allows a surgeon to achieve optimum results using minimally invasive techniques. This state-of-the-art technology allows Dr. Mobley to complete the cholecystectomy using one tiny incision at the belly button. This means that patients who opt to have da Vinci® surgery in order to remove their gallbladder will not be left with unattractive scars after the procedure is complete. As it is a minimally invasive procedure, the recovery is easier and less painful for the patient.

Benefits of the da Vinci® Cholecystectomy Procedure

Quick recovery
Less pain
Minimal scarring after the procedure

Low amounts of blood loss
Short stays in the hospital
High rate of patient satisfaction

Patients need to understand that when the da Vinci® Surgical System is in use, their surgeon is in control of the entire process. This is not a robotic system that is designed to make its own decisions and perform its own actions. Dr. Mobley is behind the surgeon console, controlling every precise movement of the robotic system. It is simply a tool that he can use to perform many different types of procedures using minimally invasive techniques. It expands his capabilities as a surgeon because most of these procedures used to require intensive surgical techniques that resulted in a more difficult, more painful recovery process for the patient.

If you or a loved one have severe gallbladder symptoms, it might be time to consider removing the gallbladder completely. For more information on the different types of surgical techniques available to you, set up a consultation appointment with Dr. Mobley. He would be happy to talk with you about your different options, and explain to you the benefits of the da Vinci® Surgical System.