Women’s health procedures at Samaritan

When you come to see us for diagnosis or for a surgical procedure, you’ll witness our skilled general surgeons going above and beyond to provide state-of-the-art care.

Dr. Andrea Matson and Dr. Jordan Smith provide total patient care throughout a patient’s surgical experience—from clinic appointments and initial diagnosis, to performing surgery, and progress through recovery.

Dr. Matson and Dr. Smith provide surgical procedures for several types of women’s health concerns—breast lumpectomies, breast reductions, and umbilical hernias.

Breast lumpectomy

Surgery to remove cancer or abnormal tissue from the breast is a “lumpectomy” or “breast-conserving surgery.” The surgeon removes the cancer or abnormal tissue and a small amount of the healthy tissue that surrounds it. This ensures that none of the abnormal tissue was left behind. It’s a preferable alternative to the common procedure used years ago—a total mastectomy or removal of the entire breast. Breast lumpectomy is a treatment option for early-stage breast cancer, as well as to rule out a cancer diagnosis. If a lumpectomy is done to remove cancer, it is usually followed by radiation therapy to the breast to reduce the chances of cancer recurring. The small breast lumpectomy incision can often be hidden in the natural line of the areola for a more cosmetic procedure.

Breast reduction surgery
The procedure for breast reduction surgery, also called “reduction mammoplasty,” removes excess fat and breast tissue from the breasts. This is performed when a patient’s breasts are so large that they cause chronic back, neck, and shoulder pain, shoulder grooves from bra straps, and chronic skin irritation under the breasts. This can also limit a woman’s physical activity and quality of life. Breast reduction surgery can help alleviate many of those symptoms. It’s best performed on patients that are not morbidly obese, are non-smokers, and those that are either not diabetic or whose diabetes is well controlled.

Umbilical hernias
This type of hernia is frequently seen in women. An umbilical hernia is caused by an opening in the abdominal wall muscles where the umbilical cord once was. For most people, this opening closes after five years of age, but for some a small defect remains. Over the years, with straining, weight gain, heavy lifting, and pregnancy, the defect can stretch larger, and fat or intestines may catch inside the opening and cause pain.

Diagnosing an umbilical hernia
A patient will often notice a bulge that is tender and the most painful when moving or lifting, but feels better when they lie flat. It may reduce completely when relaxing their abdomen. If the protrusion becomes stuck, the condition becomes more urgent—possibly strangulating its blood supply and becoming necrotic (causing localized tissue to die). Any changes in skin color or painful hernias that do not reduce require an immediate visit to a primary care provider who will refer the patient to a surgeon. Signs of intestinal involvement in a hernia include constipation, abdominal pain, fever, bloating, vomiting.

Treating an umbilical hernia
Under general anesthesia, the surgeon will repair the hernia one of two ways. It can be treated minimally invasively, which uses small incisions and mesh. An “open” (larger incision) procedure may be needed if the hernia is very large or is complicated by the bowel’s inability to pull back into place from the hernia.

Recovery time for an umbilical hernia can take 2–4 weeks to return to normal and 8 weeks until the patient can lift objects greater than 10 pounds.  Studies have shown that minimally invasive techniques, such as robotic hernia repair, have the fastest recovery times, the least amount of time a patient spends recovering in the hospital, as well as decreased pain.

About Dr. Jordan Smith & Dr. Andrea Matson

Dr. Jordan Smith and Dr. Andrea Matson are Samaritan Healthcare’s full-time, on-site general surgeons. They perform a wide variety of surgical procedures for common, complex, and emergency conditions—including women’s health procedures. Both Dr. Smith and Dr. Matson specialize in using traditional and minimally invasive techniques.

Samaritan General Surgery is located at Samaritan Clinic on Pioneer, Suite 305. Talk to your primary care provider about a referral to Dr. Smith or Dr. Matson or call 509.793.9792 to learn more.