Abdominal Surgery
General surgeons at the University of Chicago Medicine are part of a highly ranked team of experts. These experts take a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, performing abdominal surgeries using the least invasive treatments to help patients heal faster.
Adrenalectomy
When a patient has an adrenal mass that may be producing excess hormones or a mass that may be cancerous, our general surgeons can remove the adrenal gland in question using minimally invasive techniques.
Appendectomy
Removal of the appendix is usually performed when a person has appendicitis, or inflammation of the appendix. Our general surgeons typically use laparoscopic techniques to perform this procedure. This allows the surgeon to examine the entire abdominal cavity through a small incision to confirm the diagnosis. Because small incisions are used, scarring is minimal after surgery.
Gallbladder Removal (Cholecystectomy)
Gallbladder problems are usually caused by the presence of gallstones. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, jaundice (yellowing of the skin), or acute inflammation of the pancreas. Once these occur, removal of the gallbladder with its gallstones is usually recommended. Typically, this surgery is done as an outpatient procedure using laparoscopic techniques.
Hernia Repair
Our general surgeons regularly perform laparoscopic groin hernia repairs and ventral/incisional hernia repairs.
Pancreatic Surgery
We offer our patients minimally invasive pancreatic surgery for certain types of pancreatic problems, including endocrine tumors of the pancreas and pancreatic pseudocysts. UChicago Medicine is also one of few centers in the country to offer the Whipple procedure — the most common surgery for removal of cancer in the pancreas — using both traditional open and robot-assisted techniques.
Spleen Removal (Splenectomy)
Certain disorders of the spleen can cause a dangerous reduction in the number of platelets and/or red blood cells circulating the body. If medications cannot successfully treat the disorder, removal of the spleen — splenectomy — is often recommended. Our general surgeons prefer using a laparoscopic approach to this procedure. Our surgeons are particularly adept at performing laparoscopic splenectomies for patients with massively enlarged spleens due to a variety of health issues. These patients may not be able to get minimally invasive surgeries elsewhere.