Over the past decade, Saint John's Health Center has evolved into a center of surgical excellence where outstanding surgeons and essential technology are the order of the day. Key to that excellence is laparoscopy, enabling surgeons to operate through tiny rather than large open incisions. The benefits are numerous.

Saint John's physicians have been using minimally invasive surgical techniques for nearly 20 years. Primary surgical sites for laparoscopy include the abdomen and pelvis, where the need for large surgical incisions and the likelihood of postoperative complications have been minimized. In fact, with laparoscopic gall bladder and hernia procedures, patients often go home the same day and return to work more quickly than they would following traditional surgery.

Surgeons at Saint John's also perform laparoscopic colon cancer surgery. Working through tiny incisions, patient outcomes are comparable to those resulting from traditional open surgery, pain is minimized, and patient recovery is significantly improved.

When cancer enters the breast, Saint John's Health Center is again the place to receive treatment. In fact, Saint John's has been a leader in breast care for many years. Through The Breast Center, women may undergo the minimally invasive sentinel lymph node technique, which spares healthy lymph nodes during surgery and results in less trauma to a woman's body. The procedure improves range of arm motion and results in less nerve damage to surgical patients.

The technique often follows another minimally invasive breast procedure: stereotactic needle biopsy, which today yields more tissue-and information-than ever before.

Complicated colon and rectal problems also are treated at Saint John's, as are biliary tract, hernia and other abdominal disorders. Included are colon or rectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and anorectal disorders. Through the years, Saint John's has remained one of the few hospitals in the Los Angeles area that offers the Procedure for Prolapse and Hemorrhoids (PPH) hemorrhoid treatment, which is far less painful than traditional hemorrhoid surgery. Advanced laparoscopic colon and rectal surgery, which results in fewer wound problems and permits patients to resume normal diets and activities sooner, also are offered.

While many of these procedures are becoming increasingly common, that was not always the case. Surgeons at Saint John's have pioneered and taught many important surgical techniques, enabling them to be used by surgeons at hospitals and medical centers far and wide.

For more than half a century, Saint John's Health Center has provided patients throughout the Los Angeles area with the finest surgical care possible. It's a legacy that the hospital's cadre of outstanding surgeons is imparting not only locally, but to other centers of excellence.