More Options for Patients and Surgeons
A new hybrid operating suite is improving the way we provide care to heart surgery patients at UVA.
The high-tech suite offers:
- State-of-the-art imaging technology
- More space than a traditional operating room
- The flexibility to provide customized treatment to best serve patients’ needs
The new suite is the first of its kind in Central Virginia and one of only a few in the nation.
What is a Hybrid Suite?
The suite is called a hybrid operating room because it combines advanced imaging technology with a standard operating room.
For example, with a traditional operating room, if a surgeon finds a larger heart blockage than expected, the procedure might need to be halted so the patient can be moved to another room for imaging services.
But in a hybrid suite, that imaging equipment is right there.
Why a Hybrid Suite?
The goal of this new hybrid suite is to help our surgeons to provide the high level of care our heart patients need.
“The hybrid OR is a significant advancement in heart care at UVA,” says Scott Lim, MD, who is the co-director of UVA’s Cardiac Valve Center.
“We now have the best view of the patient’s heart during surgery that technology allows, and for patients, that means safer surgeries, fewer corrective surgeries and shorter hospital stays,” says Lim.
The hybrid suite can be used for traditional open-heart surgery, but it also works for less-invasive techniques like threading a catheter to the heart through a small incision in the leg.