Every year, more than 1500 patients rely on our surgical team to perform Minimally Invasive Surgery. Our surgeons need the latest tools to provide our local community with the outstanding care they deserve.
Minimally Invasive Surgery is a type of surgery where small incisions are made to access the organs, instead of one large opening. It is the standard for operations such as removing cancerous tissues, the appendix, the gallbladder, the uterus, or the kidney.
Vital for this kind of surgery are the endoscopes that allow surgeons to see inside the body. These endoscopes work like tiny cameras, taking live video footage from inside the body and displaying it on a screen.
The endoscopes at SAH have served our surgical team well for almost 15 years, but improvement in technology means newer endoscopes offer a much higher quality image. Our community deserves the best possible surgical care, and this means empowering our surgeons with a high-definition view of their work. We need your support to upgrade the endoscopes at SAH.
“Endoscope technology has improved rapidly in the last 5-10 years,” explains Ryan Crozier, Business Analyst for the SAH Surgical Program, “the picture quality of newer endoscopes is 4K [very high definition], but that isn’t the main difference. Today’s endoscopes also have fluorescence imaging features.”
Fluorescence imaging uses a non-toxic dye or stents that glow when viewed through a new endoscope. The dye lights up blood vessels, helping surgeons to assess blood flow during surgery and make crucial care decisions. In kidney surgery, fluorescence imaging stents are used to help surgeons protect delicate areas from damage. We aim to upgrade our outdated endoscopes so that this feature is available to SAH surgeons.
“Fluorescent imaging is powerful technology,” Ryan shares. "It could minimize the risks of causing injury during operations, or of patients needing further surgeries.”
Endoscopes vary in cost depending on their size, but the average cost is $8,700. We need your support to help replace our fleet of 20 – and every little bit helps! Thank you for your ongoing support of SAHF.
This story is featured in our Impact Newsletter. Read the latest issue and see our archive.
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