Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 6, 1994 TAG: 9403040122
SECTION: ROANOKE MEMORIAL HOSPITALS PAGE: RMH-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOANNE ANDERSON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"By the time we positioned the necessary equipment for some types of surgery in one of the old operating rooms, there was no room for the people! Well, just barely," related Mike Ballantyne, vice president of surgical services.
While size doesn't seem like the most glorious of features, when compared to the shiny granite and glittering glass, more space significantly enhances overall efficiency in the operating rooms.
With new technology comes a plethora of new equipment. Also, as more specializations have occurred within the medical field, more health care professionals are needed on the surgical team.
The fourth floor of the new South Pavilion is dedicated to surgery, and 14 of the new surgical suites are located there. Three cardiac operating rooms are on the sixth floor. "Increasing cardiac operating rooms from two to three, making them bigger and placing them on the same floor as the catheterization labs and cardiac intensive care unit will greatly improve patient care and reduce waiting times for open heart surgery," stated heart surgeon Dr. Paul Frantz.
Clean, fresh air is imperative in an operating room to reduce the risk of infection. All of the new suites have more air exchanges per hour than in the old operating rooms. In addition to the increased number of air exchanges, three operating rooms have a sophisticated air flow system that actually creates a curtain of air around the patient.
Clean, filtered air comes from the ceiling over the patient area, then is exhausted to the corners of the room. These rooms are available for performing procedures such as multi-system trauma and orthopedic joint replacement which my be susceptible to infections.
The new operating rooms are equipped with as many as 34 electrical outlets, two gas columns per room provide gasses, special air and vacuum lines. Electronic wiring for computers and imaging systems, as well as telemetry cables and interfaces for the future, run behind the walls and above the ceilings.
One of the new operating rooms has a special ceiling mounted X-ray tube used to establish a precise angle during cesium implants. This sophisticated procedure involves the placement of an implant for insertion of radioactive isotopes as part of a cancer treatment program.
The new operating room lights have five settings for increased light intensity and a technique to adjust width of the light beam. Some procedures require a broad light beam, while a narrow beam is desirable at other times.
Many of the sterile instruments and surgical supplies that were stored in the old operating rooms and other places in ther hospital are consolidated at a central supply department on the third floor. "Here," explained Marylee Adams, clinical director of surgical services, "case cards are on file listing instruments and supplies for each surgeon's procedures. Prior to an operation, all the instruments and supplies will be assembled on a cart and sent to the fourth or sixth floor on one of the two new cart elevators - little vertical delivery systems reminiscent of the dumb waiter."
Also on the third floor are locker rooms for the surgical teams. A staircase between just the third and fourth floors is designated a sterile area.
A new pre-operative area with 12 monitored beds is located on the surgery floor, so patients can arrive before their time in the operating room. Curtains can be drawn around each bed for increased privacy, and nurses can assist patients with consent forms, begin monitoring vital signs and start intravenous lines. Anesthesia can be started early, thereby reducing time and cost.
The recovery unit has doubled in size from 11 beds with one isolation station to 22 beds with two isolation stations. Not only are all these beds monitored, but also they are next to the semi-circular glass wall. "A patient may not know how many hours passed during surgery, but there's an increase element of orientation and awareness with being able to see if it's day or night when recovering from general anesthesia," said Ballantyne.
by CNB