Physicians are entering a new era of medical innovation as more organizations invest in robotics and other technology to support minimally invasive surgery and other clinical advancements.
Here are five notable “firsts” in healthcare that were spearheaded by physicians in the last week, as reported by Becker’s:
1. San Francisco-based UCSF Health performed its first heart transplant for a patient who previously received a total artificial heart. Cardiac surgeons Amy Fiedler, MD, and Jason Smith, MD, performed both procedures. Dr. Fiedler is surgical director of the heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support program; Dr. Smith is chief of cardiac surgery and lung transplantation.
2. Inova Health in Falls Church, Va., became the first hospital system on the East Coast to use the newly branded ActiveL artificial disc. Dr. Blumenthal and Matthew Gornet, MD, of St. Louis Spine & Orthopedic Surgery Center, performed the first Activ-L cases under the new branding.
3. Houston-based Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center has begun clinical use of GE HealthCare’s Allia Moveo imaging platform, becoming the first hospital in the U.S. to install the system. Gustavo Oderich, MD, a vascular surgeon and professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, said the system allows physicians to manage increasingly complex minimally invasive procedures with improved imaging and flexibility.
4. Phoenix-based HonorHealth Sonoran Crossing Medical Center has performed the nation’s first joint replacement using Stryker’s new Mako RPS handheld robotic system. Orthopedic surgeon Doug Werner, MD, led the procedure, which aims to improve implant alignment while reducing infection risk and time under anesthesia.
5. Tupelo-based North Mississippi Medical Center has become the first hospital in Mississippi to treat tricuspid regurgitation using Abbott’s TriClip G5 system, a minimally invasive device designed for patients who are not candidates for open-heart surgery. The procedure was performed by cardiothoracic surgeon David Talton, MD, and interventional cardiologist Dane Ballard, MD.
