Sunday, August 16, 2009

Meritcare Announces Third Webcast: View a Hand-Assisted Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy – Powered by slp3D

Meritcare Announces Third Webcast: View a Hand-Assisted Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy – Powered by slp3D

Fargo, ND (PRWEB) October 22, 2003 -

On Monday, October 27, at 12:00 p. m. CST, MeritCare will produce a live, surgical webcast of a Hand-Assisted Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy. MeritCare is one of a handful of healthcare institutions in the nation to broadcast live, surgical webcasts and the only hospital in North Dakota to offer both kidney and pancreas transplants. The surgery will be performed by a MeritCare surgical team consisting of Bhargav Mistry, M. D., transplant surgeon, and Timothy Monson, M. D., general and laparoscopic surgeon. Dr. Mistry and Dr. Monson will be available to field questions from viewers from around the world that are submitted via e-mail during the live webcast.

• The surgical procedure: The hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy is a less invasive technique for removing a kidney from a living donor for transplantation. The surgery involves the insertion of a laparoscope (surgical telescope) through three to five small incisions in the donorÂ’s abdomen. Using precision instruments that are inserted into the small openings, the surgeon prepares the donorÂ’s kidney for removal while simultaneously observing a magnified image on a TV monitor. When the kidney is ready for removal, the transplant surgeon gently removes the kidney through a small opening. The kidney is then prepared for transplantation into the recipient.

• The benefits: This technique for kidney removal is a vast improvement on the traditional method of open nephrectomy, which requires a longer incision and the removal of a rib. The laparoscopic technique requires several smaller incisions to remove the kidney, allowing minimal disruption to the donorÂ’s abdominal wall. This results in less pain and scarring, a shorter hospital stay and a quicker recovery time for the donor.

MeritCareÂ’s Transplant Program: MeritCare Health System has provided kidney transplants since 1989 with a total of 325 transplants having taken place in the past 14 years. MeritCare Transplant Services currently provides both kidney and pancreas transplants. Transplant surgeon Dr. Bhargav Mistry has performed over 140 transplants since he joined MeritCare in the fall of 2000. The first laparoscopic donor nephrectomy was performed at MeritCare in February of 2002 by Dr. Monson and Dr. Mistry. Twenty-six additional laparoscopic nephrectomies have taken place since that time.

To Access Broadcast: 

Http://www. or-live. com/meritcare/1145 (http://www. or-live. com/meritcare/1145)
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Contact Information:

Kirsten Jensen - MeritCare

701-234-6238

KirstenJensen@meritcare. com

Carol Whitney Green – slp3D

860-953-2900 x214

Cgreen@slp3d. com