Bala delivers presentation on advanced robotic surgery to national surgical society

Dr. Bala Thatigotla of Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center was a featured presenter at the recently concluded annual meeting of the Society of Robotic Surgery in Orlando.

This society is founded on the fundamental principles of education and collaboration as a means to tackle the complex issues of robotic surgery and publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of Robotic Surgery.

Bala presented a detailed study on the feasibility and safety of daVinci single site robotic gall bladder surgery conducted at Memorial. He and Venkat Kolli, M.D., Memorial's chief of surgery, are among the first surgeons in upstate New York to use this technology. Kolli co-authored the presentation.

The 64 surgery patients who participated in the study recorded no major complications and were able to return to work an average of 10 days after their surgery. The authors concluded that daVinci single site robotic gall bladder surgery is feasible and safe and offers potential benefits such as decreased pain, reduced scarring, shorter recovery and higher patient satisfaction.

Bala noted the average hospital stay for single site robotic gall bladder surgery patients is eight hours, and most are discharged to home the same day.

"Single site robotic surgery is just one example of the surgical excellence we have developed at Niagara Falls Memorial," said President and CEO Joseph A. Ruffolo. "This procedure is performed through a single incision in the navel and is virtually scarless. Dr. Bala and Dr. Kolli have led the way in implementing this new technology in Western New York."

A general, gastrointestinal and advanced laparoscopic surgeon, Bala joined the medical staff at Memorial in 2011 after completing a fellowship in one of the nation's top programs - the advanced laparoscopic surgery/bariatric surgery program at the prestigious Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn.