A surgical oncologist, Dr. Sabha Ganai has several years of experience practicing and teaching surgery, after graduating from the University of Southern California in 2001. A member of the Board of Directors for the Consortium of Surgical Ethics, Dr. Sabha Ganai is a surgical oncologist who maintains two board certifications which include practice in laparoscopic surgery.
A minimally invasive surgical procedure, laparoscopy relies on a device known as a laparoscope (an elongated tube with a bright light and camera at the front) to examine the body’s internal structures. In the field of cancer, the procedure may be recommended when there is a need to diagnose or biopsy the abdominal cavity and may be more effective at confirming metastatic spread than non-invasive diagnostic procedures like CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds. Laparoscopy can be used to detect the presence of abdominal or pelvic tumors, sample fluid in the abdominal cavity, and liver disease. During a laparoscopy, a patient will first receive anesthesia. After he or she is completely unconscious, the physician will make a 2 centimeter incision (less than an inch) near the patient’s belly button for the insertion of a tube called a trocar to fill the abdomen with carbon dioxide so that organs can be seen more clearly. After the abdomen is inflated, the physician will insert a laparoscope. This can transmit images of the patient’s organs to a monitor. If the physician then wants to take tissue samples for further analysis, he or she can do so using surgical instruments.
Many surgical procedures can be done laparoscopically, including removal of some tumors involving the stomach, pancreas, liver, spleen, intestine, and colon. In addition, robotic assistance is being used for removal of tumors of the esophagus and rectum.
Dr. Sabha Ganai 