Plastic Surgery Articles

Being diagnosed with a life-changing condition is hard enough to swallow. Finding out the surgery used to treat your condition will leave you a lasting scar on your face or neck is even harder. However, surgeons have been experimenting with alternatives to invasive surgery in an attempt to reduce the appearance of scarring.

A group of surgeons at the university of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago, for instance, successfully performed a robotic-assisted procedure to remove oversized parathyroid glands on a patient suffering from hyperparathyroidism caused by chronic kidney failure.

What is Hyperparathyroidism?

Hyperparathyroidism is the term used to describe overactive parathyroid glands which result in excess production of parathyroid hormone. Patients suffering from this condition produce too much calcium and dangerously low levels of phosphate in the blood.

Individuals suffering from Hyperparathyroidism typically experience the following symptoms:

• Weakness and fatigue
• Depression
• Aches and pains
• Decreased appetite
• Nausea, vomiting
• Constipation
• Cognitive impairment
• Kidney stones
• Osteoporosis

Robotic-Assisted Procedure Revolutionized Surgery

Unfortunately, patients suffering from Hyperparathyroidism cannot be treated with medication until the glands are removed. Up until now, surgeons would have to make a four-inch long incision in the patient’s neck in order to remove the glands, an incision that would alter the patient’s looks, often times decreasing his/her self esteem.

The new way of removing the glands, via a robotic-assisted procedure, will allow surgeons to delicately remove the glands without leaving an unattractive battle wound on the patient’s neck.

How the Procedure Works
A surgical team, led by Pier Cristofor Giulianotti, MD, chief of minimally invasive, general and robotic surgery at the medical center, used the robotic-assisted da Vinci Surgical System in the procedure. The team made a small incision under the patient’s arm and another in the chest so the robotic arms and camera could enter.

The robotic system provided the surgical team with 3D visualization, enhanced magnification and a greater range of motion, allowing them to easily locate the gland in the delicate and narrow space of the neck.

Giulianotti noted that future patients who suffer from similar conditions will most likely turn to robotic procedures to avoid the lasting scars.

Written by: Sarah Strause