UPMC Passavant: The Future of Surgical Care, Today
In health care, technology is ever-changing. As new equipment and
operative techniques become available, hospitals and medical
professionals need to stay on top of the latest developments to offer
patients the most advanced treatments available.
As part of UPMC Passavant’s new multi-million dollar expansion, the
seven-story pavilion will house six new high-tech operating suites.
These suites, which will bring the total number of operating rooms (ORs)
at UPMC Passavant to 21, have been custom-designed to create the most
advanced surgical environment currently available.
“The main goal of these state-oft he- art operating suites is to
provide patients with the highest level of care and cutting-edge
treatments to improve outcomes and decrease complications,” says Matt
El-Kadi, MD, chief of Neurosurgery, UPMC Passavant. “The addition of
these operating suites, and the new technologies within them, confirms
UPMC Passavant’s commitment to being an advanced care hospital.”
“We’re very excited at UPMC Passavant to be bringing this latest
technology to the communities north of the city,” says Donna Jasko,
vice president, Operations, UPMC Passavant. “And along with the new
operating rooms come the expert surgeons and support staff who have
the clinical knowledge to make the most of this advanced technology.”
Outfitting the New ORs
As technology has advanced, so has the ability to decrease patients’
recovery times and improve outcomes through the use of minimally
invasive techniques— surgery performed through several small
incisions, rather than one long incision. As advancements are made in
the field of minimally invasive surgery, more and more surgeries can
be performed using this technique. Each new operating room in the new
pavilion is designed to meet the criteria of a minimally invasive
suite, with some also designed for traditional, “open” surgeries.
All of the new operating suites also feature multiple high-definition
large screens, which enable surgeons to see x-rays and diagnostic
studies from different directions and angles without having to leave
the operating table. Surgeons also can communicate both verbally and
visually with a pathologist to make a more detailed diagnosis.
“Two of the operating rooms serve a dual purpose,” says ElaineWolford,
clinical director, Surgical Services, UPMC Passavant. “One is a hybrid
‘angio’ suite and the other is equipped with a CT scanner to use in
image guided procedures.”
Rodney Landreneau, MD, a thoracic surgeon with the UPMC Heart, Lung,
and Esophageal Surgery Institute, who performs surgery at UPMC
Passavant, explains the benefit of having a CT scanner integrated into
the operating room. “Being able to see the patient’s scan in real time
enables surgeons to have more direct surgical access and a better
anatomical understanding of the disease,” he says.
“Pinpointing lesions in real time versus working from a CT scan taken
three weeks ago is a big advantage,” he adds. “Take a lung cancer
patient, for example. During that time, the patient could have
developed pneumonia or the tumor could have grown. A CT scan taken at
the time of surgery can help surgeons determine the precise
coordinates for resection, which in turn decreases morbidity and
preserves lung tissue.”
According to Kathy Gordon, OR unit director, UPMC Passavant, the
entire surgical process was reevaluted when planning the pavilion to
help find ways to make things more efficient and convenient for
patients, physicians, and staff. “In addition to the new operating
suites, satellite offices for the pharmacy, blood bank, and pathology
lab were added in the new pavilion,” she says. “These ancillary
services are now nearby, instead of being located off-site.”
Cancer Surgery
The surgical suites that will be used by the UPMC Liver Cancer Center
surgeons were designed as minimally invasive laparoscopic suites,
where both traditional and laparoscopic procedures could be performed.
“A lot of equipment is needed to perform minimally invasive surgeries,
including video cameras, monitors, and light sources, all of which are
on multiple, bulky ‘towers’ that need to be wheeled into traditional
operating rooms,” says Allan Tsung, MD, a surgeon from the
UPMCLiverCancerCenter, who, along with David Geller, MD, co-director,
UPMC Liver Cancer Center, helped custom design the rooms. “In the new
operating rooms, this equipment is built-in. Everything is mounted
from the ceilings or walls.” This helps to create a cleaner, safer
surgical environment for patients. The laparoscopic suites also
feature a 50-inch plasma screen, HD flat panel monitors, and all of
the latest liver surgery technology and equipment.
“We are thrilled about the new operating suites because they will
greatly increase UPMC Passavant’s ability to grow the liver surgery
program,” says Dr. Geller. “Right now, 25 percent of all liver surgery
procedures at UPMC are being done laparoscopically, and that ratio is
increasing. By the end of next year, we hope to be doing 30 to 40
percent of liver resections with this minimally invasive approach.”
Through the use of this new technology, surgeons will continue to
perform complex liver and pancreatic surgeries using minimally
invasive techniques, and they will be able to expand their
capabilities as well. “In another hospital that does not have these
advanced instruments, we could not do some of the procedures that we
are able to do in these newer operating rooms,” says Dr. Tsung.
Neurosurgery
Within the three new general surgery suites, two will be used for
neurosurgical procedures. These suites are outfitted to accommodate
various spinal surgery procedures with the goal of doing more complex
procedures in the future.
“The neurosurgery suite is equipped with a state-of-the-art microscope
that allows for better visualization, enabling the surgeon to make
smaller incisions and identify pathology with less muscle dissection,”
says Dr. El-Kadi. “This can shorten patients’ postoperative pain,
decrease the length of stay in the hospital, and improve recovery.”
The suite also is equipped with an intraoperative x-ray/o-arm scanner
connected to a navigation system. “This allows for 3-D visualization
in real time, and helps surgeons to move spinal surgery at UPMC
Passavant one step further by extending the complexity of cases that
can be done, minimizing operating times, and increasing accuracy in
stabilization techniques of the spine,” says Dr. El-Kadi.
Heart and Vascular Surgery
The new hybrid angiography, or “angio,” suite enables surgeons to do
both open surgical procedures and minimally invasive surgeries. “Many
procedures relating to the cardiovascular system are performed, or are
going to be performed in the future, as a combination of open and
catheter-based technologies,” says Robert Rhee, MD, clinical director,
Vascular Surgery, UPMC Passavant. “To be able to do both procedures at
the same time decreases patients’ risks, because rather than having to
undergo two separate procedures, they can have both done at the same
time in the same setting.”
“These new rooms give us the ability to do more aggressive minimally
invasive interventions,” adds Luke Marone, MD, a vascular surgeon at
UPMC Passavant. “With less-invasive procedures, patients have quicker
recoveries.”
According to Dr. Marone, the new hybrid suite will increase the
hospital’s patient capacity, which will mean a decrease in waiting
times to get surgeries scheduled.
Unlike most other hybrid ORs, UPMC Passavant’s hybrid OR has been
designed with all of the wires and equipment hidden, and only the
vital monitors visualized. “This OR is revolutionary in that it is
essentially the first OR in the entire Pittsburgh area where we can do
an angiogram, an operation, and a CT scan in the same setting,” says
Dr. Rhee.
High-Tech AND High-Touch
The community and the staff of UPMC Passavant are looking forward to
the opening of the new pavilion, which will take place in winter 2010.
The medical staff played a big part in the design and development of
the new patient-care and surgical settings. “We are really excited
about these new operating suites,” says Dr. Landreneau. “We were asked
to brainstorm about what kind of ORs we wanted, and that’s what UPMC
Passavant provided.”
Yet, the leadership at UPMC Passavant also understands that technology
alone does not result in better patient care. For all of its time and
financial investment spent in designing a state-of-the-art
patient-care facility, the hospital has not lost sight of what is
truly important. “Patients and their families have always been, and
will always be, our main focus,” says Ms. Jasko. “All that we do is
centered around providing the best care we possibly can. Personal
service and care go hand-in-hand with the latest technologies.”
WIRED FOR EDUCATION AND CONSULTATION UPMC has a long history in
educating and training surgeons from across the country and around the
world in surgical techniques that have been developed by its own
expert surgeons. UPMC Passavant’s new ORs give the hospital the
capability to further develop into the role of a teaching facility.
The surgical oncology suites have been designed with full video
integration, so that what’s going on in the suite can be broadcast to
other locations for consultation or training purposes. “Surgeons can
talk to audiences in UPMC Passavant’s Assembly Hall, UPMC
Presbyterian, or even Palermo, Italy,” says surgical specialist Bob
Gibbons, RN, CRON, of UPMC Passavant. “The suite is equipped with
two-way communication that allows them to reach out to professionals
all around the world.”
Dr. El-Kadi is especially excited about this capability, which will
allow him to consult with other surgeons at off-site locations, as
well as communicate with fellows and residents for teaching purposes.
“While I’m operating in the OR, cameras in different places around the
room can be transmitting to other locations, enabling me to discuss
the case with other physicians while they are seeing live video in
real-time,” he says.
For more information or a referral from a physician, call
1-800-533-UPMC (8762) or visit upmc.com/passavant.
UPMC Passavant–McCandless
9100 Babcock Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
412-367-6700
UPMC Passavant–Cranberry
One St. Francis Way
Cranberry Township, PA 16066
724-772-5300
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