October 21, 2009
System Connects Surgeons, Pathologists, and Classrooms in Real Time
A new videoconferencing system in an operating room at Theda Clark Medical Center (TCMC) in Neenah has revolutionized the way surgeons, pathologists, and others communicate during surgeries. By allowing two-way, real-time audiovisual contact between the operating room, the pathology lab, and the hospital’s 50-seat Aylward Conference Room, the system improves communication during surgeries and affords invaluable educational opportunities for health care professionals.
“I’ve always felt it’s important to patient outcomes to have the best possible communication between the surgeon performing the procedure and the pathologist doing tissue analysis,” said Ray Georgen, MD, FACS, a surgeon at Theda Clark Medical Center. “With this new system, we as surgeons can stay with the patient and pathologists can stay in the lab, but we’re able to communicate using the latest and greatest technology available.”
Through a dome camera, laparoscopic imaging, and speakers in the ceiling, individuals outside the OR can observe simultaneously all aspects of a surgery in progress. “Even if you’re doing a minimally invasive surgery and using a laparoscope, the pathologist sitting in the lab can see the same thing the surgeon sees in the OR,” said Sanjay Cheulkar, inpatient surgery business unit manager for TCMC.
That view into the OR proves highly beneficial in certain cases, according to TCMC pathologist Cullen Henshaw, MD. For example, with breast lumpectomies, he said, “Surgeons may be concerned with whether the tumor is completely removed. This system helps pathologists understand where the interest is as we analyze tissue samples.”
Likewise, the videoconferencing system lets pathologists immediately share results with surgeons. “We can project our microscopic findings directly into the OR,” Dr. Henshaw said.
Prior to the system’s first use in a surgical case on March 19, surgeons had to scrub out of surgery to interact directly with pathologists, a time-consuming process. “This system allows pathologists to make a more accurate assessment and allows us to get instant feedback,” Dr. Georgen said.
In addition, digital video and audio links with the Aylward Conference Room provide opportunities for education in the hospital setting. “We can beam these images to our classrooms where we can show students how an operation is performed without causing congestion in the OR,” Dr. Georgen said.
He and others see far-reaching potential for the videoconferencing system. “We could use this system to get expertise from other centers or to show other surgeons how to do an operation,” Dr. Georgen said.
Added Cheulkar, “In the future, we could actually telecast these images of our live OR to any other place in this country or the world.”
“We’ve just scratched the surface,” Dr. Georgen said. “This system has tremendous potential to provide better education for health care professionals and better procedures for patients.”
Theda Clark Medical Center is a 166-bed acute care hospital founded in 1909. In addition to general medical and surgical care, specialized services include a birth center, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin-Fox Valley, the region’s only American College of Surgeons Verified Level II Trauma Center, and ThedaStar Air Medical Helicopter. Theda Clark Medical Center also offers comprehensive neuroscience care and the Theda Clark Stroke Center was the first stroke center in Northeast Wisconsin to be certified as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). The Bariatric Program at Theda Clark, along with Midwest Bariatric Solutions and its surgeons, have jointly received two Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence designations by the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Additionally, outpatient surgical procedures are performed at ThedaCare-Theda Clark Surgery Center in Oshkosh.
ThedaCare (www.thedacare.org) is a community-owned health system consisting of Appleton Medical Center, Theda Clark Medical Center, New London Family Medical Center, Riverside Medical Center, ThedaCare Physicians, and other health care services. ThedaCare is the largest employer in Northeast Wisconsin with nearly 5,400 employees.
For more information, media may contact Megan Wilcox (megan.wilcox@thedacare.org), corporate and public relations specialist for ThedaCare, at (920) 830-5847, or pager (920) 554-0730.