Open Heart Surgery and Hybrid OR

Those needing cardiac, vascular and thoracic (CVT) procedures are in good hands at Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center. 

Certified to perform open heart surgery by the Nevada Department of Health Human Services, Bureau of Licensure and Certification, Spring Valley Hospital's dedicated team of cardiac surgeons and nurses are specially trained in open heart or traditional heart procedures in which the chest is opened and surgery is done on the heart muscle, valves and arteries.

Coronary artery bypass grafting is the most common type of heart surgery performed on adults, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. This is when a healthy coronary artery or vein form the body is used to bypass a blocked artery to allow blood to flow to the heart. Open heart surgery can also be performed to repair or replace heart valves, repair damaged or abnormal areas of the heart and insert medical devices such as pacemakers.

Hybrid Operating Room and Advanced Technology

Spring Valley Hospital has two fully integrated operating rooms (ORs) dedicated to cardiac, vascular and thoracic (CVT) surgery. One surgical suite features a new hybrid design, which allows for multidisciplinary approaches to minimally invasive CVT procedures. Hybrid ORs make it possible to conduct catheter-based and open procedures on a patient at the same time. With sophisticated imaging devices such as a fixed C-Arms scanner for interventional procedures and traditional operating room equipment, surgeons using the hybrid OR can perform high-risk minimally invasive procedures and switch to open surgery in the same room if necessary. 

Spring Valley Hospital is the first in the Valley Health System to have an hybrid OR design and the first in Las Vegas to have the GE Discovery Unit, the only system in the US that has an unobtrusive surgical rated catheterization lab style tabletop.

Both ORs have the advanced equipment specifically needed for open heart surgery. Ceiling-mounted equipment booms free floor space for the operating team. High-definition display panels, including a 42-inch plasma screen monitor, provide the surgical team clear, unobstructed views of a patient's vital statistics at all times during procedures. Integration with the hospital's radiology and cardiology diagnostic systems allows surgeons, anesthesiologists and operating teams to view real-time arteriograms (images of arteries) or transesophageal echocardiograms (heart studies), as well as the surgical site, through video imaging.

Spring Valley Hospital uses a heart-lung machine and continuous autotransfusion system during open heart surgery in most cases. The machine helps send blood throughout the body once the heart is stopped during surgery. This helps conserve a patient's own blood during a procedure so that it can be reinfused instead of using donated blood. Generally, patients who receive less donated blood experience lower risk of developing complications. 

Open Heart Recovery

After open heart surgery, patients recuperate in private rooms in Spring Valley Hospital's dedicated critical care unit, which is staffed by registered nurses who are specially skilled in cardiac recovery care. Because the recovery process is just as important as the procedure, healthcare professionals throughout the hospital work together to review processes and increase awareness of the unique needs of open heart surgery patients, as well as provide the high level of care required for cardiac recovery.