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Surgical Services

General Surgery

General Surgery offers consultative, diagnostic, and therapeutic services to both outpatients and inpatients for all surgical disorders of the esophagus, gastrointestinal tract, colon and rectal tract, liver, pancreas, breast and endocrine glands. After hours, urgent referrals may be made through the emergency department at 208-367-3221. Patient referrals for consultation or surgical care to a specific surgeon should be made by contacting the individual surgeon's office.

Our General Surgery department provides comprehensive services for surgeries of the head, chest, arms, abdomen and legs, as well as gynecological needs.

daVinci™—3D Eyes and Extra Hands in the OR
Idaho's only daVinci™—known universally as the most advanced surgical robot in the world—resides at Saint Alphonsus. daVinci™ not only utilizes laparoscopic surgical techniques, but it advances them to their most state-of-the art level. Peering into a console several feet away from the patient, the surgeon has a field of vision that is 3-D and magnified 10 times beyond normal to optimize the view of tissues and organs. The surgeon's eyes are then considered “inside” the patient—a view literally inches from the operative field. One surgeon described daVinci™ as “...like being able to shrink my hands and put them places they'd never fit.”

Detachable surgical instruments are used by the robot's arms. These instruments are connected to an advanced mechanical feature—tiny, electronically controlled wrists. As one of the daVinci™ innovations, the surgeon can sit comfortably at a console with his/her arms in a natural operating position and instruments can be rotated, tilted, advanced and withdrawn. The daVinci™ allows for dexterity and can reproduce the exact movements of the human hand, wrist and fingers. With a less invasive approach via the entry ports, quicker recovery times for patients, less blood loss, lower costs for post-op care and enhanced surgeon capabilities by going “inside” the patient, the daVinci™ brings robotic surgery to its most advanced level yet.

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