14 May 2012

Liverpool Hospital's RAPTOR Saving Lives

The NSW Minister for Health, Jillian Skinner, was today introduced to a “raptor” that is saving lives at Liverpool Hospital.

The hospital’s new Resuscitation with Angiography, Percutaneous Techniques and Operative Repair suite (affectionately dubbed RAPTOR) is believed to be a world first.

The unique concept – a hybrid surgical theatre and interventional radiology suite used to operate on critically ill emergency trauma patients – elevates Liverpool Hospital to a Super Trauma Centre.

Mrs Skinner was shown through the suite, which contains imaging equipment mounted to a robotic arm, by Liverpool Hospital’s Director of Trauma Services, Dr Scott D’Amours.

“This is the sort of set-up you might expect to see in a high-tech European vehicle manufacturing plant,” Mrs Skinner said. “How appropriate to find it in one of Sydney’s busiest trauma hospitals, where it’s being put to good use saving the lives of emergency trauma patients.”

The suite is located within Liverpool Hospital’s operating theatre and interventional radiology department and is adjacent to the intensive care unit, recovery ward and CT scanner.  It is also metres away from the purpose-built, high speed lifts which transport the sickest patients from the resuscitation area of the Emergency Department or the rooftop helipad directly to the RAPTOR suite.

Dr D’Amours said emergency trauma patients can be extremely unstable and the RAPTOR suite can mean the difference between life and death.

“It contains both operating and interventional radiology imaging equipment so unstable patients who are haemorrhaging do not need to be transported to alternate venues for surgery and for interventional radiology,” Dr D’Amours said.

“This saves time which, in emergency trauma patients, can be life-saving”.

Dr D’Amours showed Mrs Skinner the RAPTOR suite’s floating operating table that allows surgeons to control bleeding and is light, radiolucent and allows for rotational imaging that can provide detailed scans of the body.

“This brings the capability of different parts of the hospital directly to the patient where and when they need it most,” he said.

The current RAPTOR suite is a prototype version of a larger suite that is included in future plans for the hospital.