Hybrid OR opens at Halifax Infirmary

HALIFAX – A hybrid operating room at the Halifax Infirmary is now up and running. Described as a first in Atlantic Canada, the room has advanced diagnostic imaging equipment, so if complications arise, cardiac or vascular surgery patients can get diagnostic tests right there.

The Department of Health and Wellness says this means the patients don’t need to be moved to another location, which is safer. “I know that many Nova Scotians are going to benefit from this,” said cardiac and vascular surgeon Dr. Christine Herman (pictured). “The technology in the hybrid OR is so much more advanced – it can give us more granular pictures and show us better images of what we’re doing.”

The hybrid operating room can be used for minimally invasive procedures – such as inserting catheters, guidewires or balloons through small incisions – or complex, open surgeries. Eileen MacGibbon, the vice-president of operations for Nova Scotia Health’s Central Zone, says these hybrid ORs are the “way of the future.”

“Most everything needed for the patient can be provided in one room; emergencies or complications can be handled in one location without needing to transport the patient between radiology and operating suites,” MacGibbon said. “As well, a hybrid OR provides enormous flexibility in what surgeries can be performed. This is a huge advancement for Nova Scotia Health.”

The operating room is named after Stewart E. Allen, a self-made business leader and visionary philanthropist from Truro who donated $1 million to the QEII Foundation’s fundraising effort. The foundation raised $4 million to support the purchase of equipment.