Covidien has released interim results of a prospective, randomized, controlled trial designed to assess the feasibility and safety of performing gall bladder surgery via a single incision through the belly button with the aid of SILS Port.

Covidien‘s SILS Port is designed to give laparoscopic surgeons the ability to use multiple instruments with maximal maneuverability through a single incision in the patient’s umbilicus (belly button).

The SILS Port leaves a hidden scar when used in the umbilicus and may minimize postoperative pain when compared to traditional open procedures.

The 111 patients who underwent gall bladder surgery with the single incision approach reported significantly better cosmetic outcomes up to three months after their procedures, compared to the group whose surgeons used four laparoscopic ports.

The pain scores between the two groups were within one point of each other on a 10 point visual analog scale rendering pain as clinically similar between the two groups.

Surgeons, on average, took 12 minutes longer to perform the gall bladder surgery with the single-port approach (57 vs. 45 min., p<0.0001), but there was no difference in blood loss during the operation.