May 17, 2022
Before the introduction of non-invasive gynecologic surgery, patients would have to stay in the hospital for several days, or even weeks, due to large incisions made for procedures ranging from hysterectomies to removing ovarian cysts. Now, thanks to recent technology, patients can be back home within 24 hours.
“A hysterectomy is still considered a major surgery but can be minimally invasive by using laparoscopic techniques or robotic-assisted laparoscopic techniques,” said Dr. Sachin Shenoy, an obstetrician and gynecologist at University Medical Center. “They (patients) can be sent home the same day or the next morning. Sometimes these procedures can be done in 30 minutes without general anesthesia.”
Before joining UMC, Shenoy was a physician and surgeon at The Institute for Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery in Allentown, Penn. He is also assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology for UA’s College of Community Health Sciences, which operates UMC.
Shenoy explained that minimally invasive gynecological surgery consists of taking a small camera, about the size of a pen, into the abdomen and only making small incisions to introduce the instruments. “When I was in medical school and in residency, I had really great mentors and they introduced me to minimally invasive surgery, robotics surgeries. If you can reduce those barriers (large incisions and longer recovery time), it makes a world of difference,” Shenoy said.
Health conditions that can often be handled with minimally invasive gynecological surgery include hysterectomies, removing ovarian cysts and benign fibroids on ovaries and uteruses, vaginal reconstruction and urinary incontinence.
“When I did my fellowship in minimally invasive gynecological surgery, I also specialized in pelvic reconstruction and female incontinence surgeries,” Shenoy said. “Pelvic organ prolapse usually affects women older in life and it’s a herniation. What we’re able to do is to reconstruct the pelvis.”
Shenoy received a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Biochemical/Biophysical Sciences from The University of Houston in Texas and his Basic Health Sciences Degree from Kasturba Medical College-International Center at Manipal University in Karnataka, India. He received his medical degree from American University of Antigua in New York. Shenoy completed an obstetrics and gynecology residency at New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and a fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecological Surgery at St. Luke’s University Health Network in Allentown.
His areas of interest include minimally invasive gynecological procedures, including laparoscopic and robotic procedures, and pelvic reconstruction and incontinence procedures.
