Thanks
to a PET/CT scan at Sacred Heart, Melissa Smith received more
than the best test available for detecting cancer. She found peace
of mind. She learned that she is cancer free.
A
mother of two young daughters, Melissa, 35, was diagnosed and
treated for a rare form of intestinal cancer. Now she visits The
PET/CT
Imaging Center on Sacred Heart’s campus every six months
to verify that she remains free of cancer. Melissa comes to Sacred
Heart because her doctor knows Sacred Heart has the most advanced
technology available in the region for early detection of cancer
-- technology that can pinpoint the tiniest changes that indicate
cancer is developing.
"Unlike
any other PET/CT scanner in this area, our new scanner utilizes
the most advanced crystal and electronics technology available
today," said Dr. Frank Abbott, medical director of the new
center and nuclear medicine specialist at Sacred Heart Hospital
since 1992. "Not only is it the fastest scanner currently
made, it is also the most sensitive-allowing us to find even smaller
cancers than ever before in nearly half the time."
For
Melissa, her PET/CT image is everything to her life, family and
future.
Investment
in Technology Pays Off Big for Patients
In
addition to the newest in PET/CT imaging technology, Sacred Heart
has invested millions of dollars over the years to bring some
of the many other technological advances to the region, including:
Advanced
Radiation Therapy Technology
Intensity
Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is a state-of-the-art cancer
treatment that delivers radiation directly to cancer cells in
a way that is more precise and targeted than conventional radiation
therapy.
Wound
Care Center Adds Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is painless and is typically used to
enhance the body's natural healing process. Patients relax in
a specially designed chamber while breathing 100 percent oxygen
under pressure.
New
Non-Surgical Procedure for Acid Reflux Disease
Sacred
Heart’s Center for Digestive Care is the first in the
region to offer Stretta, a non-surgical procedure for treatment
of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
New
GreenLight Laser Procedure for Treating Enlarged Prostate
Using Laserscope's GreenLight
Laser System, urologists at Sacred Heart are able to insert a
thin fiber that delivers green-laser energy to vaporize and precisely
remove prostate tissue. Recovery is much quicker than surgery,
and there are few risks.
Minimally
Invasive Surgeries
Sacred Heart has introduced a number of minimally
invasive surgeries to its patients using tiny cameras and
specially designed surgical instruments that are inserted into
much smaller incisions. These advances allow patients to recover
more quickly, with less pain and fewer complications compared
to the traditional large incisions used for open surgery.
Hip
Replacement
Less-invasive hip replacement is a surgical approach that involves
entering the hip through smaller incisions (about 3 inches) instead
of a large incision (an average of 10-12 inches) used in traditional
hip replacement surgery.
Drug-Eluting Stents in Heart Procedures
Cardiologists
at Sacred Heart Hospital are treating patients with a new
device that provides a more effective way of opening clogged arteries
without resorting to open-heart surgery. The new drug-eluting
stent is inserted into clogged coronary arteries to hold blood
vessels open after a procedure called angioplasty clears narrowed
arteries.
Weight-Loss Surgery Program Offers
Better Alternative
Sacred
Heart's Institute for Surgical Weight Loss provides two common
techniques for minimally invasive bariatric surgery: the Laparoscopic
Roux-en-Y gastric-bypass surgery and the new Laparoscopic Adjustable
Gastric Banding, or lap-band(r) procedure.
Innovative
Procedure in Brain to Prevent Stroke
Shortly after opening in July of this year, specialists at the
Sacred
Regional Stroke Center performed the region's first angioplasty-with-intracranial-stent
procedure in which a tiny tube of steel mesh was implanted in
an intracranial artery of the brain to prevent a stroke. The technique
of placing a stent inside the cerebral artery is difficult and
there is a risk of complications. But for patients at high risk
for stroke, it offers new hope for preventing death or disability.
For
more information about these and other new services and procedures
Sacred Heart has to offer, call 850-416-7000 or visit www.sacred-heart.org.
