Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin will open on Monday part of a state-of-the-art interventional radiology lab to help patients facing a variety of cancers, hypertension, vascular and liver conditions, plus other maladies.
“From planning to use, it’s taken about a year and a half to ready all aspects of the lab,” said Kasie Slavens, manager of Cardiac/Vascular Interventional Services.
Two procedure rooms are ready to use. Beyond that, the hospital will begin training doctors, nurses and other staff on the high-tech equipment in another room for diagnoses, procedures and treatments. That room is scheduled to be ready to use on June 26, Slavens said.
She pointed out a table for a patient that has video screens with a C-arm that allows X-rays from different views. It can speed up the treatment of a very ill patient, such as somebody coughing blood, which can be a sign of lung cancer, she said. With the new equipment, staff can X-ray the patient and, in the same room, begin a course of treatment.
A separate room with leaden glass allows technicians working computer equipment to minimize their exposure to X-rays, Slavens said.
One way the setup could be used, Dr. Michael Sichlau said, would be to position a catheter to blast a tumor with treatment. The equipment also would be an asset in pinpointing and addressing vascular blockages, Slavens said.
Another new piece of equipment allows for medical professionals to integrate ultrasound with other multiple imaging technologies, said Sichlau, who is part of VIR Chicago, a group of 10 specialists who have privileges at 10 Chicago area hospitals.
According to the group’s website, “An interventional radiologist looks inside you with imaging (CT, ultrasound, x-rays, or MRI), then uses imaging to painlessly pass tiny tubes or needles into the site of disease and fixes it without an incision or stitches. General anesthesia is rarely used by IRs; usually only mild IV sedation is needed.”
Sichlau said the new equipment also will be used to treat patients with liver conditions.
According to the hospital’s website, Dr. John Brems, director of the Center for Advanced Liver and Pancreatic Care, “performs open, laparoscopic and NanoKnife procedures for liver and pancreatic tumors. NanoKnife is a cutting-edge technology that uses electrical currents to destroy tumors in hard-to-reach or traditionally inoperable places.”
Both Slavens and Sichlau said the hospital has seen a dramatic increase in patients seeking treatment with interventional radiology. They surmise it’s due to the aging population and to patients realizing they don’t need to travel to Chicago for such care.
As advanced as the technology is, Sichlau said the equipment will be outdated in five to 10 years.
