Dr. Jeffrey Brings Hand-Assisted Laparoscopic Colon Surgery to WRMC - April 2003

Dr. Jay R. Jeffrey, a surgeon at White River Medical Center, is using a new minimally invasive technique for performing colon surgeries. Hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS) dramatically shortens the recovery time for the patient, reduces pain and often reduces time spent confined to the hospital.

Dr. Jeffrey is currently chief of the medical staff at White River Medical Center and was chief of surgery during 2000-01.

The procedure requires advanced laparoscopic skills, Dr. Jeffrey said. He gained his expertise completing Continuing Medical Education Units pertaining to the technique. Dr. Jeffrey started performing hand-assisted laparoscopic surgeries nearly two years ago. He was one of the first in Arkansas to become trained in the technique. Last fall, Dr. Jeffrey was among a dozen surgeons who perform hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery throughout the nation who met together in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Dr. Jeffrey uses one particular type of device to access the abdominal wall. “I have tried others and this is the best model currently available,” Dr. Jeffrey said. The laparoscopic disc from Ethicon Endosurgery is a ringlike device which allows a surgeon to enter a hand into the abdomen with an incision no larger than the surgeon’s glove size, rather than a 16-inch incision that may be required in traditional open colon surgery. The surgeon’s hand can help guide laparoscopic instruments, including a miniature camera, and provide the tactile sensation needed to evaluate cancer.

As one of Dr. Jeffrey’s patients, Paul Hook, recalls, Dr. Jeffrey informed him that using the lap disc technique would require a smaller incision, “just large enough for one hand, not two,” Hook said. He estimates the incision at four to six inches and said there was another incision of about one inch above the navel for the laparoscope. But, the patient said neither incision caused any problem and the pain was minimal.

Nearly 60 years of age when he was diagnosed with colon cancer, Paul Hook of Horseshoe Bend had visited Dr. Jeffrey for removal of a cyst on his neck. When the subject of a colonoscopy came up, Hook told the doctor that he had not undergone that test for 10 years. He followed Dr. Jeffrey’s advice to have the test – a cancerous polyp was found and the surgery scheduled. The surgery required removal of about eight inches of colon.

Hook expected to be in the hospital for a week, but was out in three days. “I was well-pleased,” Hook said.

Dr. Jeffrey said he is enthusiastic about hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery for patients with all colon disease, including colon cancer. “I am confident that it will provide appropriate treatment of early stage colon cancer including lymph node resection and even palliative applications for advanced colon cancer.”

To help prevent colon disease and have the advantage of early treatment if colon disease is present, Dr. Jeffrey advises the following steps: have routine medical checkups, do not smoke cigarettes, avoid obesity and exercise regularly. Medical checkups include having a heme guaiac test beginning annually at the age of 40 and an annual colonoscopy beginning at the age of 50.

As a surgeon certified by the American Board of Surgery since 1997, Dr. Jeffrey practices at Batesville Surgery Specialties Clinic, 501 Virginia Drive, Batesville, Arkansas 72501; telephone (870) 698-1846 or 1-800-371-8681. Dr. Jeffrey also sees patients regularly at the WRMC Speciality Clinic in Hardy, 1998 Hwy. 62/412, Suite M, Hardy, Arkansas 72542; telephone 870-856-5677.