Cooper University Hospital unveiled South Jersey’s first hybrid operating room yesterday. The $3 million suite combines state-of-the-art surgical technology with three-dimensional angiography where Cooper’s vascular and cardiothoracic surgeons can perform intricate, minimally-invasive endovascular surgery on patients with severe, life-threatening aortic conditions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Yesterday, doctors performed a successful endovascular repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm in the new suite.
“The hybrid OR places Cooper at the forefront of surgical technology and enables our surgeons to improve patient outcomes,” says Jeffrey P. Carpenter, M.D., Chief of Surgery at Cooper University Hospital. “The surgical suite has all the equipment, monitoring and imaging devices necessary to perform complex surgery without ever having to move the patient out of the OR during the procedure. This new technology is changing the standard of care in our region and Cooper is proud to be leading the way.”
The all-digital surgical suite is the cornerstone of the Cooper Aortic Center, a newly launched initiative to provide rapid and comprehensive treatment for complex aortic diseases — like the condition that killed actor and comedian John Ritter. The Cooper Aortic Center is made up of a multidisciplinary team of medical and surgical specialists trained to provide the highest quality evaluation, treatment and care in the United States.
The hybrid OR gives Cooper’s surgeons the ability to perform open surgery and minimally invasive, endovascular procedures on the same patient at the same time – taking away the delay and infection risk of being transported to other areas of the hospital for related procedures and studies. It is being used for procedures such as endovascular repair of abdominal aneurysms, thoracic aortic dissections, and stenting for conditions such as peripheral vascular disease. In addition, the suite will be the surgical site for groundbreaking clinical trials coming to Cooper, including percutaneous heart valve replacement, carotid artery stenting and lower extremity revascularization.
“One major advantage of the hybrid OR is the ability to perform exceptional imaging during a procedure,” says Joseph V. Lombardi, M.D., F.A.C.S, Director of the Cooper Aortic Center and Head of Cooper’s Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. “The equipment provides impeccable detail of the patient’s anatomy, giving us the ability to take precise measurements, use less contrast agents, ensure grafts are optimally guided and placed, and that blood flow resumes properly.”
Dr. Lombardi, who was instrumental in developing the hybrid OR at Cooper, is pioneering the treatment of thoracic aortic dissection by using endovascular grafts and stents. He serves as Global Principal Investigator for the STABLE trial, investigating the use of endovascular therapy to treat this complicated condition.
For more information about the hybrid operating room and additional photos, please visit the vascular and endovascular surgery section of our website.