Dr. Lin performs a comprehensive range of gastrointestinal surgeries. These include:
Small bowel resectionYour small bowel (small intestine) is a lengthy tube going from your stomach to your large bowel. You might need surgery to extract damaged tissue if you have a blockage preventing the passage of food or a condition like Crohn's disease.
Gastric resectionIf you have stomach cancer, Dr. Lin might need to remove the affected part of your stomach, which is known as gastric resection. You can manage with only a small proportion of your stomach remaining, although it limits your food intake. This is one of the ways that bariatric (weight loss) surgery helps people slim down.
ColectomyColectomy or bowel resection involves the removal of part or all of your large bowel (colon). That might be necessary if you have colon cancer or severe inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Conditions affecting the large bowel also extend to the rectum in many cases, and Dr. Lin might need to remove some or all of your rectum as well.
Other gastrointestinal surgeries Dr. Lin performs frequently include appendectomy (removal of an inflamed appendix), cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal), Nissen fundoplication to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and hernia repair.

There are several ways to perform gastrointestinal surgery:
EndoscopyEndoscopic surgery involves using an endoscope, a flexible tubular instrument with a light and camera. The endoscope goes through a natural opening rather than requiring any incisions to access your internal organs.
For example, an endoscope goes through your nose or mouth to reach your esophagus, stomach, and duodenum (the top of your small intestine). A sigmoidoscope accesses your rectum and the first part of your large colon via your anus, and a colonoscope accesses the entire colon through your anus.
LaparoscopyLaparoscopic surgery uses a laparoscope, which is very much like an endoscope. However, instead of accessing your gastrointestinal system through a natural opening, Dr. Lin makes small incisions in your skin through which he passes the laparoscope.
Robotic surgeryDr. Lin uses the Da Vinci Xi® computerized robotics system to perform advanced laparoscopic surgery. Robotics provides the most precise approach to gastrointestinal surgery.
With all these types of gastrointestinal surgery, Dr. Lin views the operation site by looking at the video feed sent back from the endoscopic camera. That means there's no need to make large incisions, which would be the case with traditional open surgery. 
To find out more about minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgery, call Clarence Lin, MD, today or book an appointment online.