Nearly every student recalls writing the familiar back-to-school essay, ‘What I did on my summer vacation’. Recent graduate and prospective elementary teacher Sarah Gasperowsky has nothing to show for how she spent her summer vacation, and she couldn’t be happier. An unexpected surgery to remove her gallbladder may have slowed her down for a few weeks, but the 28-year-old Flushing resident is relieved to have the recurring discomfort of gallstones behind her. And to her delight, she has no visible scar from the procedure. Sarah is one of several people now having certain abdominal procedures performed using a new surgical technique that speeds recovery time with less pain and less scarring.

"I am just amazed that Dr. Kia was able to remove something that big, from one tiny incision that you can barely see." noted Sarah. The gallbladder measured 7cm by 2cm, which is roughly the size of a jalapeno pepper. "I feel great now. I am just watching what I eat, opting for low-fat, high-protein foods."

For Sarah’s mother, Nancy Smith, also of Flushing, her daughter’s surgery is a reminder of her own gallbladder removal roughly ten years ago. "Like mother, like daughter I guess," Smith jokes. "I had the traditional laparoscopic surgery with four small incisions, which was a relatively new procedure in the area at that time."

"Any time you can reduce the number of incisions means less pain for the patient," stated Dr. Kia. "Most patients do not require any pain medication afterwards."