ELMHURST HOSPITAL CENTER

OPERATING SUITE

As patient after patient can attest, Elmhurst Hospital Center is known throughout Queens for both its superior healthcare and its incomparable state-of-the-art facility. There is perhaps no better example of the hospital's high standards than its operating suite.

Elmhurst currently offers a unique menu of surgical services that reflects the intricate demands of the 21st century. We perform seed implantation therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer; sesium radiation therapy (the application of rods) to treat ovarian cancer; ultrasound for the dispersion of kidney stones, which does not require a hospital stay for the patient; and a variety of laparoscopic procedures enabling patients to recover and heal faster. We also have recently employed the new PACS system and paperless medical record to solidify the relationship between patients and physicians and ensure continuity of care. The newly established robotic lab allows for the precise screening of blood.

We are a leader in the borough in cardiac catheterizations. Our inpatient services include a nine-bed Coronary Care Unit; a Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory that performed approximately 1,200 diagnostic catheterizations in 2001; an Echocardiography Laboratory that performed more than 4,000 studies in 2001; exercise and echo stress testing suites; and a cardiology consultation service responsible for evaluation of inpatients and patients presenting to the specialized Cardiac Room of Elmhurst's busy Emergency Department. Our outpatient services include four general cardiology clinics and one pacemaker clinic, where more than 4,000 visits occur annually.

The most exciting recent development in Cardiology is its participation in the Atlantic C-PORT Registry. This will allow heart attack patients who would normally receive a clot-breaking medication to open up a blocked artery to undergo coronary angioplasty, a treatment strategy believed to be more effective than medicines and save more lives. We are awaiting approval shortly.

Our interdisciplinary Pain Management Service is staffed with five full-time pain physicians, acupuncturists, a psychologist, psychiatrist, neurosurgeons and physiatrists. They combine the modalities from patient control analgesia, neurolytic blockade, radio frequency ablation to implantable intratrachael catheters and pumps, which improve the quality of life for terminal patients. We are able to meet the need of a multitude of disorders including lower back pain, neuropathies, reflex sympathetic dystrophies, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, muscular pain, cancer and AIDS-related pain.

In the area of Surgery and Breast Health, we are purchasing a digital mammography unit that will offer an enhanced, filmless image. Approximately 150 stereotactic breast biopsies have been performed by the Surgery Department since October 2000, when the new service was initiated. Being a minimally invasive way to obtain a tissue pathology of small non-palpable suspicious mammogram abnormalities, it requires only local anesthesia and is not done in the Operating Room.

The Pathology Department is a comprehensive, high-volume laboratory, employing the latest robotic equipment and analytical techniques to process thousands of specimens daily.

Since 1998, the Department of Urology has utilized a new technique known as Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL), wherein shock waves are used to break up stones in the urinary tract. This alleviates the need for conventional surgery for many patients who suffer from kidney stones.

In January 2000 our orthopedic surgeons began using a new technique for hip surgery utilizing the Gotfried Percutaneous Compression Plating (PC.C.P.) system. Fixation of the device is accomplished through two small percutaneous incisions with minimal disruption of bone, muscle and soft tissue. Additionally there is minimal blood loss for the patient, facilitating a quicker recovery and rehabilitation.