Dr. John Means, a board-certified general surgeon, performed the first single incision laparoscopic surgery in the Flathead Valley this month at North Valley Hospital in Whitefish, according to hospital Chief Executive Officer Jason Spring. 

A minimally invasive procedure, the surgery is performed using one small incision through the patient’s navel. With this method, scarring is almost invisible and patients usually experience less pain and a faster recovery. 

Instead of multiple incisions associated with traditional laparoscopic surgery, this new technique allows the physician to manipulate two surgical instruments and a tiny camera in the space of an incision of about a half inch, Spring said.

Some of the procedures that  Means will be performing with this technique at North Valley Hospital include gall bladder removal, appendectomy, hernia repairs and colon resections.

 “We’ve seen the progression of surgery from traditional, open procedures to laparoscopic procedures using three to four incisions, and now to the single-incision technique,” Means said. “In other areas, SILS is the tool of the future. At North Valley Hospital, it’s the tool of the present.” 

A fellowship-trained general and bariatric surgeon, Means joined North Valley Hospital in July after three years at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He practices as part of Northwest Montana Surgical Associates.

Following his residency in general surgery at the Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh, Means completed a fellowship in laparoscopic general and bariatric (obesity) surgery at Duke University Medical Center.