Single Port Access (SPA™)
Minimal Access Surgery
Through a Single Incision
Paul G. Curcillo II, MD, FACS
Vice Chairman and Associate Professor, Department of Surgery
Director, Robotic and Minimally Invasive Surgery
Stephanie A. King, MD, FACOG
Director
Department of Gynecologic Oncology
Erica R. Podolsky, MD
Department of Surgery
Steven J. Rottman, MD
Department of Surgery
Drexel University College of Medicine
Philadelphia, PA
The practice of surgical techniques is constantly improving and evolving. In the last two decades, minimally invasive surgery has gained widespread acceptance. Virtually all procedures can now be performed laparoscopically. This trend not only provides better cosmesis, but offers decreased recovery times as well. The initial trend from open to laparoscopic surgery was to use smaller incisions. The natural continuation of this is to now decrease the number of incisions necessary to perform minimal access surgery.
To this end, the authors have seen a constantly evolving stream of technology and instrumentation in laparoscopy. New venues, such as robotics and Natural Orifice.
Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES), have developed as well. As part of this evolution, the authors developed Single Port Access (SPA™) surgery in April 2007 as a novel and innovative platform of minimal access surgery. Its acceptance through our training programs, as well as the subsequent development of modified Single Port techniques, demonstrates the potential to develop a new platform of minimal access surgery.