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For hospitals, staying on the cutting edge of diagnostics is imperative.
For hospitals, staying on the cutting edge of diagnostics and patient care means not just hiring top-notch doctors, but also providing them with the latest equipment and medical technology.
That necessity is not lost on hospitals in the Lowcountry, where institutions such as Hilton Head Hospital, Beaufort Memorial Hospital and St. Joseph’s/Candler are staying ahead of the curve with everything from state-of-the-art imaging systems to robotic surgery platforms.
In May, Beaufort Memorial Hospital installed a $1.5 million da Vinci Surgical System, a machine that takes minimally invasive surgery to the next level. With traditional laparoscopic procedures, a surgeon maneuvers somewhat rigid handheld instruments while looking up at a two-dimensional video monitor to see the patient’s insides. But with the da Vinci, the surgeon sits away from the patient at a console, looking directly at high-resolution, 3-D image of the targeted anatomy and using controls to direct four robotic arms wielding super-precise, jointed instruments. The increased dexterity and accuracy makes it easier to perform complex procedures and often results in less pain, less scar tissue and shorter hospital stays for patients.
The da Vinci can be used for a variety of surgeries from prostatectomy to mitral valve repair. BMH is currently using its system for urologic and gynecologic procedures such as ovarian cyst removal and hysterectomies.
“I can do a hysterectomy and have the patient back at home the next day and back at work the next week,” said Patricia Thompson, a BMH gynecologist and one of three doctors at the hospital who are trained to use the da Vinci. “It’s just fabulous for the patient.”
Thompson added that she wasn’t surprised when BMH decided to purchase the da Vinci, given that it strives to be a technologically progressive institution. “Hospitals and Health Networks” magazine, the journal of the American Hospital Association, named BMH one of the country’s 100 “Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems” in July.
“We’re very proud of being on the cutting edge,” Thompson says.
In addition to the da Vinci, other new technology creating buzz at BMH includes Respiratory Gating, computer software that helps oncologists create more accurate images and target radiation to tumors in areas such as the lungs and breasts, which are difficult to zero in on given that tumors in those locations often move as a patient breathes.
“[Respiratory Gating] is precise, fast and easy to use,” said Connie Duke, registered nurse and director of BMH’s cancer center. “It is a quantum leap for radiation planning for patients with tumor motion.
Like BMH, St. Joseph’s/Candler has a da Vinci system (which it uses to perform gynecologic, urologic and heart surgeries) but the hospital also recently acquired an additional high-tech tool aimed at minimally invasive procedures and faster patient recovery: a HALO System to treat Barrett’s esophagus, a precancerous condition of the lining of the esophagus. The HALO is inserted through the mouth and can target the affected areas with no incisions.
And Hilton Head Hospital got its own technological boost in July when it installed a $1.3 million 64-slice Aquilion computed tomography (CT) scanner. The Aquilion is a significant improvement over the hospital’s former four-slice scanner because it captures 64 images of the anatomy in one revolution, as opposed to four, resulting in clearer, more detailed pictures and better views of any part of the body.
“It’s a major step up in imaging technology,” said Dean Moesch, radiologist and medical director of imaging services at HHH.
The process is also slightly quicker and more comfortable for patients, reducing the time they’re required to hold their breath as well as the duration of the procedure as a whole. In addition, the Aquilion is safer from a radiation standpoint, reducing dosage for a single scan by as much as 40 percent.
“This is the best technology you can get anywhere in the country,” Moesch says. “It’s exciting to know that you don’t need to leave Hilton Head to get this kind of quality.”
