Erika Conner
All of us here at 7News are excited to be part of a healthy living event... like nothing else in our area. It's our free Health and Fitness Expo... and it's less than two weeks away. As we move closer to the Expo, we're bringing you stories about important health issues. Tonight we'll take a look inside the new state of the art operating room at Brigham and Women's Hospital. 7's Christa Delcamp reports.
At first glance, the room might look like a typical operating room. But doctors say it's anything but.
Dr. Mike Belkin, Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery at BWH
"This is the first system of its kind to ever be put in an operating room."
It took years to plan and design the one thousand square foot space, located in Brigham and Women's Shapiro Cardiovascular Center.
Dr. Mike Belkin, Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery at BWH
"We had people from vascular surgeons, cardiac surgeons, nursing, anesthesia. We had radiation technologists; we had engineers, architects, all working together."
It's called a "hybrid" operating room because it combines standard operating room capabilities with state of the art imaging. It even has a movable touch screen monitor.
Dr. Mike Belkin, Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery at BWH
"I can actually bring the CT up here, and I can actually thumb through the images right here. So it saves me from walking away from the table."
Doctors love that they can take and see detailed pictures in the same room where the actual surgery is taking place.
Dr. Mike Belkin, Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery at BWH
"We can do 3D and geography, we can do intravascular ultrasound studies, we can do CT scanning all in this room at the same time as we're doing complex surgical procedures."
And that means better efficiency.
Dr. Mike Belkin, Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery at BWH
"It improves the precision with which we can do the operations. It allows us to combine procedures that up to now had to be done in two places."
Doctors say it's a glimpse into the future of surgery and it's paving the way for a new standard of care for patients.
Dr. Mike Belkin, Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery at BWH
"I think we really got it right, and people are coming from all over the country and all over the world to see this room. I think its a model, and the result is it's a really unique facility."
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