London Health Sciences Centre announces cardiac surgery world first

Pacemaker complication repaired using minimally invasive surgery

LONDON, Ontario, May 3, 2011 /Canada NewsWire/ - London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is proud to announce another world first. LHSC's cardiac surgery team successfully performed an emergency surgery to repair a hole in a patient's heart caused by a pacemaker complication using the DaVinci robot.

On February 15, 2011, LHSC cardiac surgeon, Dr. Bob Kiaii received an emergency page. Patient Viola Addison had a hole in her heart that required immediate repair. The hole was caused by a pacemaker lead that had perforated the wall of her heart. Traditionally, this surgery is done via open chest surgery.

"The use of robotic surgery allows us to continually improve our surgery techniques and treat patients who are considered high risk for traditional surgery in a less invasive way," says Dr. Kiaii. "The heart is a moving object - as it pumps blood and oxygen throughout the body the heart walls move in and out. This movement makes traditional endoscopic surgery very risky and challenging. The robot gives me the manual dexterity needed to perform surgeries that require precision like this one."

With Ms. Addison's chest closed, and using the robot on the beating heart, Dr. Kiaii placed a suture around the hole where the pacemaker lead had perforated through the wall of the heart. Next, the cardiology team pulled the pacemaker lead back into place while the surgery team closed the hole. This minimally invasive approach resulted in no bleeding, no complications and left Ms. Addison with only three small keyhole incisions. The surgery team was able to anchor the same pacemaker lead to a new position.

After a two-day stay at the hospital, Ms. Addison went home. Ms. Addison says for her the surgery was a "breeze":

"I am not in any pain and I am no longer out of breath. I don't know where I would be without the surgery - it was something that had to be done."

Surgical robots have been used in London since 1999 when LHSC acquired its first surgical robot. In 2000, LHSC established CSTAR, Canadian Surgical Technologies & Advanced Robotics, as a research and education program in partnership with Lawson Health Research Institute and The University of Western Ontario to advance minimally invasive robotic surgeries.

LHSC's President and CEO, Bonnie Adamson congratulated the LHSC staff and surgeons.

"This is a great example of the ongoing and proud tradition of medical firsts at LHSC."

About London Health Sciences Centre

London Health Sciences Centre has been in the forefront of medicine in Canada for 135 years and offers the broadest range of specialized clinical services in Ontario. Building on the traditions of its founding hospitals to provide compassionate care in an academic teaching setting, London Health Sciences Centre is home to Children's Hospital, South Street Hospital, University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, two family medical centres, and two research institutes - Children's Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute, a joint research initiative with St. Joseph's Health Care, London. As a leader in medical discovery and health research, London Health Sciences Centre has a history of over 50 international and national firsts and attracts top clinicians and researchers from around the world. As a regional referral centre, London Health Sciences Centre cares for the most medically complex patients including critically injured adults and children in Southwestern Ontario and beyond. The hospital's nearly 15,000 staff, physicians, students and volunteers provide care for more than one million patient visits a year. For more information visit www.lhsc.on.ca

Echo Supports Innovation to Improve Cardiac and Stroke Rehab for Ontario Women

TORONTO, October 20, 2010 /Canada NewsWire/ - Toronto Rehab and the London Health Sciences Centre are receiving $66,000 in funding to examine best practices in cardiac and stroke rehabilitation in Ontario women. In partnership with Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Cardiac Care Network and Ontario Stroke System, the project is funded by Echo: Improving Women's Health in Ontario, an agency of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

"Women tend to underutilize rehabilitation services and are less likely to get a referral," says Pat Campbell, Chief Executive Officer, Echo. "We need to close these gaps in care to support women to regain maximum health and support functional independence. This project will help inform future work in cardiac and stroke rehabilitation in Ontario."

"The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario (HSFO) welcomes this initiative and applauds Echo for its leadership," says Mary Lewis, Director of Government Relations and Partner Programs, HSFO. "The Foundation is pleased to partner in this worthwhile study to deliver timely research to close the gender gap and enhance stroke and cardiac rehabilitation for women in Ontario."

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death and disability among Canadian women. Despite the fact that there are Canadian guidelines on Cardiac and Stroke rehabilitation, most research demonstrates low enrolment in rehabilitation. In particular, researchers have also found that women tend to underutilize rehabilitation services.

Lead investigator, Dr. Tracey Colella and Dr. Judith Francis, with their teams at Toronto Rehab and London Health Sciences Centre will:

...Highlight differences between what is recommended for women and men with respect to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and stroke rehabilitation (SR);

...Examine the potential benefits and opportunities for the integration of CR and SR activities for women;

...Assess the current gaps by examining differences between best practises and current practises;

...and Identify barriers to implementation and sustainability of best practice of CR/SR for women and identify solutions to close these gaps.

The project team is made up of key opinion leaders, researchers, clinicians, best practise guideline developers and care providers.

Set to commence this fall the project will wrap up in summer 2011.

"The benefits of cardiac and stroke rehabilitation are well established," says Kori Kingsbury, Chief Executive Officer, Cardiac Care Network of Ontario. "This research will help us better understand the opportunities to create programs that will help to address the unique needs of women and close the participation gap in rehabilitation services."

"The Ontario Stroke Network is pleased to partner with Echo on this important research," says Christina O'Callaghan, Executive Director, Ontario Stroke Network. The research will provide new knowledge that will assist health care decision makers in addressing the current gaps and barriers to women accessing cardiac and stroke rehabilitation services."

"We are very excited to be a part of this important initiative that will provide us with the knowledge and evidence for optimizing cardiac and stroke rehab care for women in Ontario," says Dr. Tracey Colella, Advanced Practice Leader, Cardiac and Secondary Prevention Program, Toronto Rehab.

QUICK FACTS

...21% and 23% of men and women, respectively, are projected to die within a year of their stroke;

...Without rehabilitation services, 18% of men and 23% of women may die within one year following their heart attack;

...Approximately 50% of survivors (men and women) experience paralysis, 30% cannot walk unassisted, 26% cannot complete activities of daily living on their own;

LEARN MORE

The POWER Study - Cardiovascular Disease chapter

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. 2007. Consensus Panel on the Stroke Rehabilitation System "Time is Function."

Statistics Canada. 2004..
Mortality, summary list of causes.