As of: January 24, 2024, 12:00 p.m
By: Sebastian Tauchnitz
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The head physician of vascular and endovascular surgery at Weilheim Hospital, Dr.
Peter Baumann, the new angiography system in the hybrid operating room.
© RALF RUDER
According to those responsible, the controversial hybrid operating room in the Weilheim hospital, which was purchased last year, is a great success.
632 patients have been treated using the new technology since April 2023.
District
– Is this still an operating room or already a spaceship?
If Dr.
When Peter Baumann operates his “Artis pheno”, one automatically thinks of science fiction films.
The large arms move into position, whirring softly.
And produce three-dimensional X-ray images of the finest quality.
Baumann, head of vascular and endovascular surgery, is proud of his new device.
And not because he can brag about it particularly well at the vascular surgeons' meeting - apart from the university hospitals, the Weilheim hospital is the only one in the Oberland that uses a hybrid operating room.
No, he is proud of it because, according to him, it has greatly improved the treatment options for patients.
In the past, there was a lot of vascular surgery.
Large cuts and, in the worst case, amputations if blood flow was no longer guaranteed.
More and more minimally invasive procedures
In the past two decades, there has been an increasing trend towards carrying out endoscopic procedures, says Baumann.
What I mean is: No more huge incisions, but minimally invasive procedures in which a guide wire is pushed into the vessels and the stents are inserted in exactly the right place.
However, endoscopy still cannot be used in every case.
“Around 70 percent of all surgical procedures are hybrid operations,” said the chief physician during a press conference.
An incision is made and, for example, an aneurysm in the abdominal cavity is surgically removed.
It is often noticeable that another vessel needs to be “repaired”.
Previously, the incision was enlarged, the area was exposed and the stent was placed.
Today, however, endoscopic surgery continues from the existing opening.
In principle, a surgical procedure is combined with an endoscopic procedure.
This has great advantages for patients, explains Baumann.
Smaller incisions mean less stress for the often elderly patients.
The lying times are shortened and the associated risks are reduced.
High-precision imaging thanks to state-of-the-art technology
In order to be able to carry out such hybrid surgeries, doctors rely on high-precision imaging techniques.
“So far, a so-called C-arm has been used,” reports Baumann.
A good X-ray machine, he says.
But one that has to be served by a nurse according to his instructions.
This takes time and increases the radiation dose to which the patient is exposed.
That is why there is now a state-of-the-art angiography system in the Weilheim hospital's hybrid operating room, the purchase of which caused considerable debate in the district council last year.
Moved by a robot arm, the X-ray machine rotates around the patient under computer control and takes images from every direction.
These are combined to form three-dimensional images that are displayed directly and in high resolution on the monitors in the operating room.
This not only makes the surgeon's work easier, but also ensures that the radiation exposure of the patients decreases.
And significantly fewer contrast agents are required than before.
If too much of these contrast agents are used, they put a strain on the patient's kidneys.
They are obviously convinced, says Dr.
Baumann continues.
The number of people who consciously decide to have an operation in Weilheim is constantly increasing.