New Technology Is Delivering Advances In A Variety of Specialties

Today’s technological advances are enabling the medical profession as never before in history to "design" surgeries for each patient’s individual needs and deliver improved outcomes and reduced recovery times. While Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale is witnessing this throughout our service lines, it is most clearly demonstrated in three areas.

 

According to the American Cancer Society, up to five percent of patients undergoing radiation therapy for cancer will later present with serious radiation complications. Holy Cross radiation oncologist Dr. Lav Goyal is currently treating patients with the Elekta Synergy® radiation treatment system.

 

The system, which employs a digital linear accelerator and integrated 3D imaging system, allows for aggressive radiation treatments that precisely target tumors thereby minimizing potential damage to healthy tissue.

 

High quality 3D images at the time of treatment offer real-time data instead of imaging studies obtained days or weeks before. Delivering improved treatments, Elekta Synergy reduces the radiation margins previously set to account for uncertainties as to the size of a tumor, its exact location and movement during imaging studies.

 

In August, Dr. Martin Roche, Chief of Orthopedic Robotics at Holy Cross Hospital and Surgical Director of The Orthopedic Institute at Holy Cross, performed the first advanced sensor assisted knee surgery in the world using a process that allows surgeons to obtain improved soft tissue balance and patient specific kinematics.

 

The surgery is performed using sensor technology by OrthoSensor, Inc. and the RIO® robotic arm system by MAKO Surgical Corp. RIO enables surgeons to perform MAKOplasty® partial knee resurfacing, a minimally invasive procedure, in which the diseased portion of the knee is resurfaced using patient-specific 3-D modeling and real-time robotic arm assistance to preserve healthy tissue and bone and accurately position implants. OrthoSensor’s embedded nanosensors are designed to assist soft tissue balancing and improve patient specific kinematics during the surgery.

 

More than 600,000 patients undergo knee replacement surgery each year and the combination of advanced robotic arm and sensor technologies address the individual patient’s condition and customize implant positioning and more natural knee functions for improved recovery and outcomes.

 

Dr. W. Porter McRoberts, at the Holy Cross Orthodpedic Institute treats patients with lumbar spinal stenosis with Vertos Medical’s minimally invasive decompression treatment known as "Mild." Cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating central canal stenosis of the lumbar spine, the procedure takes place using a 5.1 mm portal.

 

Using Mild devices under fluoroscopic guidance, physicians remove only the tissue and bone that compress nerves in and around the spinal cord. Most patients usually require only a local anesthetic and light sedation and typically return home following treatments which generally require no sutures and only an adhesive bandage. Typically, patients resume light tasks or return to work only a few days after surgery.

 

An observational study published in the January/February 2010 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Pain Physician found no reports of patient complications related to the Mild devices or technique. The study further concluded that, although informal, its initial assessment suggests a “much better” safety profile as compared to the other surgical procedures. They also indicated that treating patients with the ultra-minimally invasive mild procedure could “significantly decrease risks while reducing costs.”