Incheon Sejong Hospital’s General Surgery Center Chief, Dr. Sang-Myung Lee, Records 3,600 Cases of Benign Disease Surgeries as a Sole Surgeon

Dr. Sang-Myung Lee, Chief of the General Surgery Center at Incheon Sejong Hospital, has achieved a milestone of 3,600 surgeries for benign diseases as a single operating surgeon.

The breakdown of procedures includes:

• 1,692 cholecystectomies (gallbladder removal)

• 669 hernia repairs

• 1,244 appendectomies

In addition to conventional single-incision laparoscopic surgery, Dr. Lee has been actively utilizing the da Vinci SP single-port robotic surgery system, which Incheon Sejong Hospital became the first general hospital in the Gyeongin region to introduce in 2023.

In its first year of adoption, he also became the first in the Incheon region to successfully perform totally extraperitoneal repair (TEP) using the da Vinci SP, thereby contributing to the wider adoption of robotic surgery in Korea.

The TEP technique involves inserting the laparoscope between the peritoneum and the posterior abdominal wall without entering the peritoneal cavity. Gas is infused to create a surgical space, allowing access to the hernia site. While this approach eliminates the risk of intra-abdominal injury, it requires a high level of surgical expertise due to the limited working space.

Last year, a surgical specialist from Nagoya Ekisaikai Hospital in Japan visited Incheon Sejong Hospital to observe Dr. Lee’s da Vinci SP robotic hernia surgery firsthand, underscoring his role as a focal point for global collaboration in surgical innovation.

Dr. Lee stated, “Surpassing 3,600 benign disease surgeries using single-incision laparoscopic and da Vinci SP single-port robotic surgery systems is not only a personal achievement but also the result of organic team collaboration, standardized surgical techniques, and systematic patient management. Moving forward, we remain committed to providing advanced medical services that enhance patients’ quality of life, including the treatment of critical and emergency conditions.”