A few months ago, Avera McKennan made statewide history after one of it's oncologists removed a patient's ovaries without leaving a scar. In tonight's Avera Medical Minute, we learn more about this amazing surgery.

Christina Chelgren from Sioux Falls just turned 44, she would quickly discover the best present Dr. Luis Rojas with the Avera Women's Center for Gynecologic Cancer could give her was to remove her ovaries without creating another visible scar.

In May, Dr. Rojas performed a firs in his field in the region, bu going through Christina's belly button with a single port for a laproscopic surgery to remove her ovaries. Late last year, Christina was diagnosed with breast cancer and her tumors were being fed by estrogen. So opted for a bilateral mastectomy in January and was put on tamoxifen, but the medicine made her miserably sick.

In order for Christina to be taken off of tamoxifen, she had to have her ovaries removed to stop the production of estrogen.

Christina was in disbelief when she learned the Dr. Rojas was participating in a clinical trial with the Cleveland Clinic to see if single incision ovary removal surgery leads to faster recovery with less pain medications. On top of that it leaves patients without 3 scars, typical of laproscopic surgeries.

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