W. Scott Melvin, MD 

The OSU Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery (CMIS) expands knowledge about effective surgical techniques that offer only minor disruption to the body. CMIS faculty conduct clinical trials pertinent to laparoscopic surgery, including robotic procedures and bariatric interventions.

W. Scott Melvin, MD, an associate professor of Surgery who directs the CMIS and the OSU Division of General Surgery, has research interests in gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, as well as advanced laparoscopic techniques. He is interested in the molecular biology of pancreatic cancer and devising experimental therapies for it. Melvin has written many articles about pancreatic disease and outcomes of pancreatic surgery. He also has applied new minimally invasive surgical techniques to pancreatic disease and reported the first use of robotics for pancreatic surgery. He serves on the guidelines committee of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network for Pancreatic Cancer.

Melvin has applied robotic surgery to other gastrointestinal diseases as well. In March 2005, he presented at the Central Surgical Society’s annual meeting the results of a multi-institutional study (for which he was lead author) demonstrating the technical advantages of robotic surgery for treating achalasia and other diseases of the esophagus.

Research studies for which he serves as principal investigator (PI) also include one that is gathering information about the performance of a bipolar balloon electrode device that uses radiofrequency energy in the micro-layer ablation of esophageal mucosa. “This device has received clearance for general application of energy in the esophagus, as well as a specific indication for treating Barrett’s esophagus, a precancerous change in the esophageal lining,” Melvin explains. “This study is gathering more performance information about its use.”

Another study for which Melvin is PI evaluates the effects of raw vs. heated vs. humidified vs. heated-and-humidified carbon dioxide administered during laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. Melvin says previous human and animal studies have shown a variety of responses and results.“It is our aim to clarify the role that heating and humidifying the carbon dioxide used in this procedure plays in maintaining normal body temperature and managing postoperative pain,” he says. Brad Needleman, MD, and Dean Mikami, MD, are bariatric surgeons who led this study, and Mikami presented the results at a national meeting. In April, Melvin presided as conference chair for the annual meeting of the Society of Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, the second-largest general surgical society in the nation.