Wesley Unveils $20 million Operating Theatre Upgrade

 The Wesley Hospital in Brisbane has unveiled its new $20 million theatre expansion and upgrade project.
Dr Luis Prado, the Wesley’s Director of Medical Services, said three new, state-of-the-art operating theatres, including a hybrid theatre, are now operational.
“Thanks to UnitingCare Health’s investment, The Wesley Hospital now houses 19 theatres, one hybrid theatre, three cardiac catheter laboratories and four endoscopy suites – making it the largest theatre complex of any private hospital in Queensland,” Dr Prado said.
Dr Prado said the new hybrid theatre was equipped to provide sophisticated medical imaging, allowing specialists to perform complex surgeries through small incisions, resulting in less discomfort, faster recovery times and fewer risks for patients with multiple medical conditions.
“Advances in X-ray, CT scanning and other medical imaging technologies, and platforms such as the da Vinci Si surgical system have made it possible to diagnose and treat patients for many diseases through minimally-invasive surgical techniques,” Dr Prado said.
“In some cases, patients require multiple surgeries and this can now be done in one theatre session rather than in several stages.”
The first procedures have now begun in the Dr Russell Stitz Theatre Complex, named in honour of Adjunct Professor Stitz, who is one of Australia’s most prominent clinicians with a long and close relationship with The Wesley Hospital.
Dr Nicholas Boyne, vascular surgeon at The Wesley Hospital, said the hybrid theatre would be very beneficial for his patients, including 74-year-old John Underwood, who has an abdominal aneurysm and severe femoral artery disease.
“Without the hybrid theatre, Mr Underwood would have needed to have a few separate procedures in different theatre settings to resolve the issue of his aneurysm,” Dr Boyne said. “However as the hybrid theatre allows for both image-guided endovascular procedures and open surgery, we can undertake three procedures during one theatre session.”
Dr Boyne said Mr Underwood is due to undergo a femoral endarterectomy on both sides to remove the plaque from his artery. The artery will then be repaired, and then a stent graft will be inserted to repair the abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Mr Underwood, who provides full-time care for his wife, now has the prospect of a much faster recovery and discharge which will be of benefit to the couple, Dr Boyne said.
“Without having his surgery in the hybrid theatre setting, Mr Underwood could have been in hospital for up to 10 days, instead of just a few days, followed by six to eight weeks’ recovery at home.”
The new hybrid theatre incorporates advanced flexible imaging equipment and software from Philips Healthcare, with generator flat panel detector technologies. The system provides high quality, high resolution X-rays and three-dimensional images of anatomy and soft tissue with substantially reduced radiation doses.
The Wesley Hospital also undertakes robotic surgery in its theatre complex and recently undertook its 2,000th robotic surgery procedure.