Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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Surgery is never easy for anyone. But when the patient is a baby.. it requires a whole different set of skills.
Now, physicians at one bay area hospital are helping pioneer a new approach that is a lot easier on both patients.. and parents.
Savannah Korionoff is just 8 months old.. but she's already a veteran of the operating room. This is her second surgery. Savannah was born with lesions on her lungs. That puts her at increased risk of infection.. pneumonia.. and worse.
Ashley Korionoff, Savannah's Father: "WE JUST KNOW THAT EVENTUALLY, HISTORICALLY THE CYSTS IN HER LUNGS MIGHT BECOME CANCEROUS".
In the past surgery would mean an 8 inch incision from her armpit round to her back.
But now surgeons at Lucile Packard Children's hospital are using minimally invasive techniques. Instead of one big cut.. they make three tiny incisions and insert the instruments through those holes to perform the operation.
To do it.. Doctor Craig albanese has had to develop a whole new array of tools.. and a whole different set of skills.
Dr. Craig Albanese, Packard Children's Hospital: "WITH LAPROSCOPIC OR THORASCOPIC IT'S VERY CONFINED, SO SOMETHING LIKE SUTURING OR KNOT TYING IS VERY VERY CHALLENGING, AND YES YOU HAVE TO IN SOME WAYS RETRAIN AND DO MANY OF THESE TO BECOME PROFICIENT"
Patients like Savannah are so small.. the light used to see inside her lungs illuminates her entire chest.
The benefits of this new minimally invasive approach are huge.. and not just for the child.
Dr. Craig Albanese, Packard Children's Hospital: "SMALLER INCISIONS, LESS PAIN MEDICATION, LESS MEDICATION YOU GET BACK TO ACTIVITY QUICKER, IT NOT ONLY AFFECTS THE KIDS GETTING BACK HOME QUICKER, BUT THEY CAN GET BACK TO SCHOOL AND THE PARENTS CAN GET BACK TO WORK".
Removing the lesions now means Savannah will be able to lead a completely normal life. Reassuring news for her parents.
Ashley Korionoff, Savannah's Father: "WE HOPE SHE GROWS UP TO BE A NORMAL KID, AND YOU KNOW SOME SAY SHE WON'T GROW UP TO BE A MARATHON RUNNER BUT THAT'S TOTALLY UP TO HER". It's an example of how tiny movements.. can make a big difference.
