January 15, 2009

A panel of distinguished surgeons from around the country are coming to Drexel College of Medicine for a live webcast on January 8, 2009. “20 Years Later…The Evolution of Lap Chole” will highlight advances and future trends in minimally invasive gallbladder surgery. The hour-long webcast will take place at 7 p.m. 

Among the panelists is Paul G. Curcillo II, MD, FACS, vice chairman and associate professor of surgery and director of robotic and minimally invasive surgery at Drexel University College of Medicine. Curcillo will discuss the SPA™ procedure he performs and teaches, involving a single port access technique he developed with Stephanie King, MD, associate professor and chief of gynecologic oncology at Drexel.

Curcillo performed the world’s first single port access surgery in 2007 when he successfully removed a woman’s gallbladder through a single incision in the patient’s bellybutton. Since then, he and King have gone on to perform more than 200 single port access surgeries using the SPA technique, including hysterectomies, hernia repairs, removal of gallbladders, ovaries, abdominal masses, spleens and appendixes. The technique has also been used in stomach, bowel, and colon surgeries.

In addition to Curcillo, the live webcast will feature:

• Joseph F. Amaral, MD, Professor of Surgery, Brown University
• Santiago Horgan, MD, Professor of Surgery & Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery, University of California, San Diego Medical Center
• J. Barry McKernan, MD, PhD, FACS, Center for Videoscopic and Laser Surgery, Woodstock, Georgia, and Clinical Professor of Surgery, Medical College of Georgia