Hybrid Operating Room Advances Heart Care at Henry Ford Allegiance Health

Henry Ford Allegiance Health recently opened a high-tech operating room (OR) for the performance of advanced, minimally invasive heart and vascular procedures. The new room is referred to as a hybrid because it combines the powerful imaging equipment of a cardiac catheterization lab with the custom features of an operating room designated for open-heart surgery.

Highly specialized imaging equipment provides precise, real-time pictures of the heart and circulatory system to accurately guide the procedure. The hybrid OR can also accommodate a change of clinical teams and approaches if a patient requires a change from minimally invasive to traditional open-heart surgery.

ADVANCED, NON-SURGICAL PROCEDURES PERFORMED IN THE HYBRID OPERATING ROOM INCLUDE:

• Aorticvalvereplacement(TAVR)–Replacementofadefectiveheartvalvewithin the largest artery of the body (aorta).

• Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) – Repair of a bulging weakness (aneurysm) in the wall of the aorta where it runs through the abdomen. A tiny mesh tube (stent), inserted through a small incision in the groin, reinforces the aneurysm to keep it from bursting.

• Thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR) – Repair of an aneurysm in the wall of the thoracic aorta (the part of the aorta that runs through the chest).

• Carotidarteryrepair–Removalofablockageornarrowingofthelargearteriesat either side of the neck (carotids).

• High-riskPCI–Stentplacementtoopenablockageinanarteryoftheheartthatis particularly difficult to reach and life-threatening.

• PVI–Openingofablockedornarrowedarteryoutsidethehearttopreventstroke, such as in the neck, arms, legs or abdomen.

In order to bring these life-saving procedures to our local communities, Henry Ford Allegiance Health interventional cardiologists studied with experts from the Henry Ford Center for Structural Heart Disease for nearly two years.