Division of General and Oncologic Surgery

The Swirnow Videoscopic Surgical Center

The Swirnow Videoscopic Surgical Center is both a research and development center for the advancement of minimally invasive techniques and an educational and referral source for physicians worldwide.

At the Swirnow Center, we train both medical students and practicing surgeons in our state-of-the-art teaching laboratory, which includes a 3-D minimally invasive surgery training environment that provides feedback and real-time performance evaluation. The Center also houses a library of educational tapes and specialized texts and a classroom with telemedicine links to the hospital's operating room, endoscopy suite and operating rooms at other hospitals.

Laparoscopic surgery only requires several small holes through which surgeons place their instruments, instead of a large incision. They insert the laparoscope through a small incision, usually at the navel. The laparoscope contains a miniature video camera, which is why the technique is also known as "videoscopic surgery." Because there is no large incision, patients can go home from the hospital sooner and they recover and return to their normal activities much faster.

University of Maryland Division of General and Oncologic Surgery physicians are recognized as leaders in minimally invasive surgery, and have performed many of the state's first laparoscopic procedures. These include videoscopic cholecystectomy, pelvic lymph node dissection, vagotomy, hernia repair, colon resection, spenectomy and nephrectomy.

The Center also serves as a conference center where our physicians often get together to talk about the best treatment options for our patients.

This page was last updated on: March 22, 2012.

If you would like to make an appointment or talk to someone about our services, please call 1-800-492-5538 (patients) or 1-800-373-4111 (physicians).