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City boasts hip new surgical centreA volunteer demonsrates how the special digitalX-ray machine works. At right, the exterior of the $8.8-million institute.Components from hip replacements that were removed are being kept to help researchers develop better devices.High-tech institute a boon for orthopedicsTom Turgeon and his colleagues perform half of all hip and knee joint replacements in the province.By Aldo SantinT’S probably best to forget the old slang for surgeons — sawbones —when talking about the orthopedic capacity of Concordia General Hospital.The $8.8-million Hip and Knee Institute that has its ribbon cutting this afternoon boasts the kind of stuff battlefield doctors of long ago could only dream of.The institute screams high-tech — from the bank of monitors that greet visitors when they enter to the digital X-ray lab.In addition to research and teaching facilities, there’s a knee simulator suite, a scanning electron microscope, the only digital X-ray lab of its kind, and an implants retrieval lab where worn-out replacement hip and knee joints are stored for study of patterns of failure.When you add it all up, the third floor of the new commercial building in East Kildonan consolidates much of the pre-surgical work associated with hip and knee replacements, including screening and pre-hab — the increasingly important program that gets patients physically and socially in shape for surgery.“You need collaboration to be successful for the work we do,” said Dr. Tom Turgeon, one of the city’s four orthopedic surgeons working out of the new facility.Turgeon and his three surgical colleagues — known collectively as the Concordia Joint Replacement Group — perform half of all hip and knee joint replacements and repairs in Manitoba at Concordia General Hospital. They also do virtually all of thehigh-risk complex surgeries to repair or replace existing implants.The group was the first in Canada to use clinical assistants during surgery, which resulted in a dramatic increase in patient volumes.Studies predict that by 2030, demand for hip implant surgeries will increase 200 per cent and knee implant surgeries 600 per cent.Turgeon said the comprehensive work of the institute — combining research and patient care — will help Manitoba meet these needs.Since the group began working together in 2003, they’re performing 800 more surgeries annually than in 2002.The group’s success has resulted inthe reduction of wait times for surgical consultation from one year to under three months, and wait times for surgeries dropped from two years to between six and nine months.The institute is located adjacent to Concordia General Hospital, on Mol-son Road near Concordia Avenue. That hospital is where Turgeon and his colleagues do their hip and knee replacements and repair work.The institute opened at the end of June, but Turgeon said it’s not yet working at capacity.The monitors are for patients to enter their own medical histories. Turgeon said this will speed up the admission process and eliminate the time-consuming process of transferring data from paper to digital form.The teaching facilities include a fridge and freezer for the cadavers used by the orthopedic residents in the operating room simulator suites. There are also plenty of “saw bones” — synthetic bones.“They have to be able to practise their techniques and hone their skills before going to work on the real thing,” Turgeon said during an exclusive tour of the facility provided to the Free Press.In the implants retrieval lab, Turgeon said, doctors and medical researchers will work alongside engineers, exploring why medical devices fail and helping the industry develop new devices.By the numbersI $8.8 Million — Cost of equipment and office space renovation.I 6,000 — The number of X-rays expected to be taken annually.I 605 — Number of people who visited the pre-hab clinic in the past 12 months (at the institute and before that at Access River East).I Four — The number of orthopedic surgeons who make up the Concordia Joint Replacement Group.I 1,400 — The number of hip and knee replacement surgeries performed annually by the Concordia Joint Replacement Group.In the operating room simulator suites, flat-screen monitors line the walls.They’re used as teaching aids so the surgeons working on a cadaver can observe and follow the techniques of Turgeon and his colleagues.Inside the orthopedic conference centre, observers are connected digitally to an operating room at Concordia hospital and can watch surgical procedures in high definition.Even the institute’s eight examining rooms boast digital monitors, and a sink in each room to improve hygiene.The pre-hab program used to be based at the Access River East facilities on Henderson Highway, but was relocated to the institute.The program employs a team of health professionals who work with thosepatients a physicians decides need to lose weight, strengthen their muscles or talk to a social worker. Turgeon said the successful program has shortened post-operative hospital stays.aldo.santin@freepress.mb.caSee video at winnipegfreepress.com
Newspaper Details
Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA
Thu, Sep 03, 2009
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Jay F.
CA 28 Jul 2020
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