ADVANCED TECHNIQUES

Dr. Guillermo Ponce de Leon is now certified in robotic surgery. Only da Vinci overcomes the limitations of both traditional open surgery and conventional minimally invasive surgery. The “da Vinci” System is a sophisticated robotic platform designed to expand the surgeon’s capabilities and offer a minimally invasive option for major surgery.

Did you know that many laparoscopic procedures can now be performed through a single, small incision? The benefit is two-fold: speedier, less-painful recovery and minimal scarring with the same quality results! Currently the physicians of Southwest Surgical Associates are utilizing the single-incision method for the following laparoscopic procedures:

Gall-bladder removal • Gastric Band placement • Adrenalectomy • Appendectomy • Colon or Small Bowel Resection • Abdominal Mass Removal

Single incision laparoscopic surgery is not recommended for all patients, so discuss your options with your surgeon by requesting an appointment.

Over 2 million Americans suffer from acid reflux disease or GERD, GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease. If you are one of these people and your medications have not stopped the occurance of symptoms, you may be a candidate for a completely incision-less surgery, called TIF (Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication) that treats the root cause of GERD, an anatomical deficiency at the gastroesophgeal junction.

Southwest Surgical Associates is proud that Dr. Charles Aramburo and Dr. Todd Wood are two of the less than 10 surgeons in the Houston area that are currently certified to perform the TIF procedure. If you want to learn more, you can click here to listen to Dr. Wood’s previously recorded webinar about the TIF procedure. Or you can make an appointment with Dr. Aramburo or Dr. Wood if you feel the TIF procedure may be right for you.

Gastroparesis is a stomach disorder in which food is digested more slowly than normal. In a healthly digestive system, strong muscular contractions move food from the stomach through the digestive tract. With gastroparesis, however, the stomach muscles work poorly (or not at all), thus preventing the stomach from emptying properly.

In severe cases of Gastroparesis that have not responded to medication or dietary changes, a surgical option called Gastric Electrical Stimulation may be beneficial. In this surgery, a neurostimulator made by Medtronic called Enterra ™ Therapy, is implanted beneath the skin and is connected to two leads implanted in the stomach muscle. The neurostimulator sends electric pulses through the leads to the lower stomach which provides relief from chronic nausea and vomiting associated with gastroparesis.

To find out if you are a candidate for the placement of a Gastric Electrical Stimulator, please request an appointment for a consultation