The Bonnie Uytengsu and Family Surgery and Interventional Center opened in August, adding six surgical suites and six interventional treatment rooms, and nearly doubling Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford’s capacity for pediatric surgical procedures.
Packard Children’s now has pediatrics-dedicated nuclear medicine, interventional radiology, and surgical facilities all under one roof. For the first time, our hospital also has pediatrics-dedicated cardiac catheterization labs, offering minimally invasive diagnostic and treatment techniques.
The new surgery center is part of the greater Treatment Center, which also includes the Cynthia Fry Gunn and John A. Gunn Imaging Center and is in the Main building that opened in December 2017. After arriving, a patient can check into the Treatment Center and go from service to service within one area without being transferred between buildings, a big win for patient safety.
“Ultimately, the capabilities of these surgical and interventional radiology suites will translate to less radiation exposure, less time under anesthesia, and shorter recovery times for patients,” says Dennis Lund, MD, interim CEO and chief medical officer for Packard Children’s and Stanford Children’s Health.
Improving Efficiency and Outcomes
The exciting new capabilities include hybrid operating and interventional radiology rooms, where multistage procedures can now be performed at one time and location. For example, when a patient is having a brain tumor removed in the neuro-hybrid suite, surgeons can immediately take MRI images in the same space to confirm that they removed the entire tumor before closing the surgical site. Previously, surgeons had to complete the surgery and wait to take scans to confirm the outcome, which could mean the patient had to undergo additional surgeries.
“It’s very simply faster and safer for patients,” says Gerald Grant, MD, FACS, chief of pediatric neurosurgery. “Immediately following a procedure, I am able to assure a family we’ve successfully removed a tumor.”
The neuro-hybrid suite is the only one of its kind in Northern California dedicated to pediatric patients, and according to Grant, it’s a huge advantage in providing the best care.
The seven original operating rooms in the Ford Family Surgery Center, located in the hospital’s West building, are also undergoing upgrades, and by early 2019, the hospital will have a total of 13 cutting-edge pediatric operating rooms.
Support from donors like you ensures that more patients have access to these operating rooms and advanced technology, which, Lund says, results in safer care and better experiences for patients and families.
This article originally appeared in the Fall 2018 issue of Packard Children’s News.
Photography credit: David Hodges