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Lecture to focus
on da Vinci system
PLATTSBURGH — "Robot-Assisted Gynecologic Surgery: A Giant Leap Forward In Women's Health Care" is the free community lecture planned for 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3, in the auditoriums at CVPH Medical Center.
The speaker will be Dr. Dane Larsen of Advanced Women's Health Care, who is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and often uses the da Vinci, a state-of-the-art robotic-assisted surgical system to perform hysterectomies and other common invasive GYN procedures.
He will discuss the use of the da Vinci and patient benefits, which commonly include less post-operative pain and discomfort, lower risk of infection, shorter hospital stay and faster recovery.
The system will be set up for hands-on demonstrations after the program.
The lecture is part of the CVPH Community Lecture Series and sponsored by the Foundation of CVPH. Call 562-7320 for reservations.
ECH to offer MRI
ELIZABETHTOWN — Elizabethtown Community Hospital will begin offering Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Dec. 3, when a new mobile MRI unit will be stationed at the hospital one day each week.
The hospital will increase the frequency of visits, based on demand, a press release said.
MRI is a method of diagnosing both hard and soft tissue injuries and disease.
The state-of-the-art MRI unit will complement the hospital's completely-digital radiology department. Digital images allow for enhanced quality and ease of viewing. Radiologists who interpret these images do so through the hospital's technologically-secure Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS). Images stored in the hospital's archive system can also be shown on monitors throughout the hospital in an instant.
"There are many people who currently have to travel in order to receive this important diagnostic test," said Molly Thompson, director of the hospital's radiology department. "Regardless of where a patient's doctor is located, he or she is able to obtain an MRI wherever it is most convenient. For many people in the area, a short trip to Elizabethtown is much easier than heading to a hospital much further away."


