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The IGS7 hybrid operating room from GE Healthcare adorns the Athens Medical Center and at the same time the whole of Greece due to the modern technology it has and the ability it provides to vascular surgeons to perform highly specialized procedures in complex vascular diseases.

We had the honor of inaugurating this space called “Prometheus” in 2020 and four years later the Vascular Surgery Department of the Athens Medical Center is leading the way at a pan-European level in terms of innovation and successful treatment of the entire spectrum of vascular diseases. But what is it that makes this space so unique for vascular surgery?

What is Hybrid Surgery?

The Hybrid Surgery is the space that combines the presence of minimally invasive imaging and navigation machines within the vessels (hemodynamic laboratory) and at the same time has the best possible aseptic conditions (ISO 5 and above) for open surgical procedures.

What is the main advantage of a Hybrid Surgery?

The main advantage of a Hybrid Surgery is that it ensures an aseptic environment, a necessary condition for the safe placement of multiple grafts (stents, stents, balloons, wires, etc.) in the human body and mainly in large vessels (aorta). In addition, in the event of an emergency (bleeding, vessel rupture, etc.), the possibility of immediate treatment with open surgery in aseptic conditions is provided: this hybrid surgery allows the surgeon to immediately remove the angiography machine from the surgical field, to facilitate the emergency intervention, without compromising the complete asepsis of the surgical field.

Why is Hybrid Surgery considered a technological revolution and how does it help the vascular surgeon and the patient?

This Hybrid Surgery from GE Healthcare is a technological revolution because the software it has uses artificial intelligence (AI) to correctly and safely perform vascular surgeries. One such indicative application, among others, is the ASSIST program: the software reads the preoperative CT angiography and applies it as a map to the imaging at the time of the operation. In other words, it merges the two images into one (fusion imaging) and helps navigation within the vessels by offering the surgeon a “road” map. This dramatically reduces both radiation exposure and the amount of iodinated contrast agent, which is toxic to the patient’s kidneys, that the doctor would need to image the vessels one by one. In addition, the imaging machine (C-arm) performs a three-dimensional examination of the result via CT on the operating table before the intervention is completed. The ability to perform 3D imaging on the operating table is of great importance, as in the event of a complication or the need to correct a problem, this is done before the operation is completed.

What types of vascular surgeries are performed at the “Prometheus” Hybrid Surgery Center at the Athens Medical Center?

In the four years of operation, we have performed the full range of complex vascular surgical conditions. This includes minimally invasive repair of aortic arch and thoracoabdominal aorta aneurysms, carotid artery stenosis, aneurysms of visceral vessels (splenic, renal artery), treatment of pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis, opening of peripheral vessels in patients with peripheral vasculopathy or diabetic foot, treatment of erectile dysfunction, special treatments for arteriovenous malformations, as well as minimally invasive fistula creation for hemodialysis patients.