Media Contact: Elaine Wohl
516-465-2615/2600
ewohl@nshs.edu

MANHASSET, N.Y. – The back of a tractor trailer parked outside North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) served as a training ground Friday for surgeons, operating room (OR) nurses and other OR staff from NSUH and Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center, who learned to perform minimally-invasive, single-incision surgery procedures.

An 85-foot-long “operating room on wheels” brought to NSUH by Mansfield, MA-based Covidien featured the SILS™ system, one of the most advanced laparoscopic surgical systems being showcased throughout the country as part of the Covidien’s “Innovation Tour.”

“The SILS™ procedures are among the most significant advances in laparoscopic surgery in the last 20 years,” said Dominick Gadaleta, MD, director of the North Shore University Hospital Bariatric Surgery Program  at NSUH. “With the increase in demand for more SILS™ procedure training, the Covidien traveling training trailer has come to work with North Shore University Hospital’s and LIJ Medical Center’s leading laparoscopic surgeons, providing exposure to innovative surgery techniques to local surgeons who want to learn more about these advanced procedures, before taking the time to travel to a formal course.”

Also taking part in the simulation training were Gene Coppa, MD, senior vice president, surgical services at the North Shore-LIJ Health System and chair of surgery, North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center, and Larry Gellman, MD, chief of minimally invasive surgery at NSUH.

The new SILS™ procedure uses a single-incision, done through the navel, (clinically known as the umbilicus, colloquially known as the belly button), which offers faster recoveries for patients. This cutting-edge technique is applicable to patients having such surgeries as gall bladder removal, hysterectomy, gastric band, kidney removal, hernia repair, bowel resections and appendix removal.

Covidien’s 1,200–square-foot training facility includes six operating room stations, where participants have the opportunity to use simulated trainers to gain hands-on experience with new instruments, including those meant for cosmetically appealing single incision surgery, where the major incision can be placed in a hidden area, such as the umbilicus. The traveling training trailer, also featuring a lecture hall and simulated operating rooms, provides an avenue for multi-disciplinary training for surgeons, medical residents and nurses in such clinical areas as gynecology, urology and general minimally invasive surgery.

To see a video of this laparoscopic technology and interviews with clinicians, go to: http://www.northshorelij.com/NSLIJ/media-portal/surgery/Or-on-wheels

About North Shore-LIJ Health System
The nation's second-largest, non-profit, secular healthcare system, North Shore-LIJ delivers world-class clinical care throughout the New York metropolitan area, pioneering research at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and a visionary approach to medical education, highlighted by the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. The winner of the National Quality Forum’s 2010 National Quality Healthcare Award, North Shore-LIJ cares for people at every stage of life at 15 hospitals, long-term care facilities and more than 200 ambulatory care centers throughout the region. North Shore-LIJ’s owned hospitals and long-term care facilities house about 5,600 beds, employ more than 10,000 nurses and have affiliations with more than 9,000 physicians. Its workforce of about 42,000 is the largest on Long Island and the ninth-largest in New York City. For more information, go to www.northshorelij.com.