New surgery center

Health System surgeons have been awarded a grant of $750,000 over three years to establish a Laparoscopic Surgery Center of Excellence, expanding already existing facilities. The grant, from Tyco Healthcare, a division of United States Surgical Corporation, will fund a training program, as well as new research and a center for Web-based education.

Laparoscopic surgery is a minimally invasive procedure in which the instruments are passed through small tubes into the abdominal cavity. A telescope is passed through one of the tubes so the surgeons view the procedure on a television screen.