Henry Ford Allegiance Health Opens Hybrid Operating Room for Advanced Heart Procedures

(October 8, 2020 10:26 AM) Henry Ford Allegiance Health has announced the introduction of a new, technologically advanced hybrid operating room for open-heart surgery.  The new operating room combines the powerful imaging equipment of a cardiac catheterization lab with the specialized features of an operating room designated for open-heart surgery.

Highly specialized imaging equipment allows surgeons and interventional cardiologists to perform complex minimally invasive heart and vascular procedures guided by precise, real-time pictures of the heart and circulatory system. The hybrid operating room can also accommodate a change of clinical teams and approaches if a patient requires conversion from a minimally invasive procedure to traditional open-heart surgery.

“The enhanced imaging and surgical capabilities of the new hybrid operating room ensure complex cardiac patients receive optimal care in a single location. Previously, if a patient needed conversion from a minimally invasive cardiac procedure to open-heart surgery, it required transportation to an operating room.” said Henry Ford Allegiance Health Interventional Matthew Jonovich, MD. “Having a technologically equipped hybrid operating room eliminates the need for patient transfer, which can be lifesaving.”

The opening of a hybrid operating room was a critical step in creating Henry Ford Allegiance Health’s Structural Heart Program. The Program provides minimally invasive treatment for disease of the heart’s valves, muscles and walls—including heart valve replacement and repair. Also valuable for the performance of complex, minimally invasive vascular procedures, the Hybrid OR can accommodate repairs to aortic aneurysms and repairs and stenting of blocked carotid arteries.

To bring these essential services to local communities, Henry Ford Allegiance Health interventional cardiologists studied with experts from Henry Ford’s Center for Structural Heart Disease for nearly two years. This video provides a view of the new Hybrid OR.