Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery

Hudson Valley Hospital Center

The Minimally Invasive Surgery Center at Hudson Valley Hospital Center specializes in advanced laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery in the treatment of digestive disorders. The center will offer the latest in digestive surgery to address diseases of the esophagus, adrenal gland, spleen, colon and gallbladder, as well as, treatment of reflux (GERD); Paraesophageal Hernia Repair and achalasia (a swallowing disorder).

The Center is part of Hudson Valley Hospital Center’s new Center for Surgery with operating rooms that are twice the size of the average OR and equipped with the latest technology including hi-def video capabilities. The new OR suites and larger and brighter patient recovery suite, balance aesthetics with technology for an optimal healing environment. The center has its own entrance next to the new Center for Rehabilitation Services.

HVHC’s GI lab includes the latest technology for evaluating reflux and other digestive diseases. Laparoscopic surgery to repair GERD or Acid Reflux disease is a specialty of the center. Patients with chronic reflux disease have found relief in one-day surgery offered by this center, and renowned surgeon Dr. Klaus Thaler.

Hudson Valley Hospital Center is also the first in the area to perform Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery on gallbladder patients. SILS is a procedure that uses only one small incision as opposed to three in traditional laparoscopic surgery, leaving no scaring and speeding healing time.

See what some patients have to say about their treatment at HVHC’s Minimally Invasive Surgery Center.

Sinuplasty

For most of his life David Ray suffered from chronic sinus infections, pressure and pain, enduring multiple surgeries with no permanent relief.

The 57-year-old South Salem resident said all that changed in July when he underwent a procedure known as balloon sinuplasty that is much less invasive than the traditional surgeries he had had in the past. “It’s been very, very successful, much better than I could have even hoped,’’ said Ray, a corporate Vice President for New York Life. “I was able to regain my sense of smell and taste for the first time in 15 years.”

Reflux

For 10 years, Susan Iuliucci of Peekskill suffered from heartburn and pain associated with her Reflux Disease, a condition that causes stomach acid to travel back up the esophagus, causing burning and erosion. In the last few years, Iuliucci’s symptoms had gotten so bad that despite taking medication, she was in constant pain. “It was really bad. I was sick everyday. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. I really didn’t know what to do,’’ said Iuliucci, 56 who lives with her husband and two dogs in Peekskill.

That’s when Iuliucci’s physician recommended that she see Dr. Klaus Thaler, director of the Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, about a new minimally invasive surgery technique that could repair a faulty flap between the esophagus and the stomach that was causing her Reflux.

In October, Thaler performed the surgery on Iuliucci at Hudson Valley Hospital Center. She went home the next day and within two weeks Iuliucci was symptom free.

“After the surgery I felt like a different person,’’ she said. “I don’t even have to take medication, and I can eat everything. I would recommend this to anyone with serious Reflux. It changed my life.’’

Hernia

Thirty years ago Fay Bradley had hernia surgery. She spent two weeks in the hospital, and weeks after recovering so when she recently developed another hernia, she was skeptical about surgery.

“It was amazing,’’ said Bradley, 66 of Cold Spring. “Dr. Gordon was wonderful. I was in and out of there the same day. I walked out and had no pain whatsoever. I never even used the pain medication.’’

Renowned surgeon leads team

Dr. Klaus Thaler, a renowned expert in digestive and minimally invasive surgery and author of groundbreaking studies in the field, is director of the center of excellence in minimally invasive surgery and digestive disease.

Dr. Thaler comes to Hudson Valley Hospital Center from the University of Missouri, where for the past five years he served as Director of Gastrointestinal Surgery and co-chair of the Robotic Surgery program. Dr. Thaler has done groundbreaking work in the newly emerging field of natural orifice surgery, which is the next generation of minimally invasive surgery.

Dr. Thaler’s special focus is on the treatment of reflux (GERD); Paraesophageal Hernia Repair and achalasia (a swallowing disorder). Plans for a Bariatric Surgery Center are underway.

Dr. Thaler’s clinical work and research focus is laparoscopic and endoscopy surgery of the digestive tract including single incision laparoscopy and Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES). Natural orifice surgery is a ground breaking surgical technology that enables surgeons to perform procedures without scaring. He was one of the first in the country to perform clinical trials in the area of natural orifice surgery and participate in an international trial to investigate transoral, incisionless weight loss surgery to treat morbid obesity (TOGA Study). Dr Thaler’s work is published in over one hundred peer reviewed papers and six books.

As expert in his field, Dr. Thaler has given more than 50 lectures at national and international societies in recent years. He is actively involved in national committees and societies including the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), the Surgical Society of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the American Society of Gastroenterology (ASGE), and the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE).

Dr. Thaler earned his medical degree at the University of Vienna and completed his residency in general surgery at the University of Vienna in Austria and at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon. He completed a research fellowship in colorectal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic and a clinical fellowship in laparoscopic and bariatric surgery at the Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery in Portland, Oregon.

Dr. Thaler is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. His offices are located at 1968 Crompond Road, Cortlandt Manor, NY

Meet our surgical team

• Sai Varanasi, MD, General Surgery, Breast surgery, Oncology, Minimally Invasive.
• Jack Yee, MD, General Surgery, Minimally Invasive.
• Anjali Ratnatricam, DO, Vascular surgeon
• Meedlen Charles, MD, OB/GYN
• Laura Mieszerski, MD, OB/GYN
• Dr. Michelle Gordon, DO, General and Minimally Invasive Surgeon