Covenant Medical Center adds new surgical services in Lubbock
Covenant Medical Center, part of Covenant Medical Group, has added several surgical services for patients this year, according to a release.
Those services cover cancer, heart, MRI and additional treatments.
Ion technology, one of the services concerning lung cancer detection, allows physicians to perform robotic assisted bronchoscopy with an ultra-thin catheter. These procedures started in September.
"Ion robotic bronchoscopy provides us a new way to safely sample suspicious lesions at an earlier stage," said Dr. Brian Williams, Covenant Medical Group Pulmonologist and Critical Care Specialist. "It’s precision, stability, and small diameter allows us to reach areas of the lungs that previously we have not been able to access. This minimally invasive approach, helps us provide an accurate diagnosis with the least amount of risk to the patient."
Another service, which started in June, is aquablationtherapy. This is a new process/procedure urologists use while treating Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). Aquablation is "an image-guided system that allows the surgeon to map the areas of the prostate that need to be resected using a heat-free water jet to precisely remove the excess prostate tissue without damaging the remaining tissue."
"Aquablation is the newest treatment modality for an enlarged prostate," said Dr. Ryan Owen, Covenant Medical Group Urologist. "We are optimistic that by using this new technology we will be able to more completely treat symptoms in a minimally invasive method. The goal is to alleviate symptoms and have patients return home the same day of surgery. So far it has delivered."
CMC started inserting permanent heart implants in early 2020 to help reduce the risk of stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. The center uses WATCHMAN FLX Left Atrial Appendage Closure device, which is an alternative to the typical blood thinner medication treatments.
Covenant Medical Group has also upgraded their MRI machine at CMC. The machine is a 1.5T and allows for motion correction and free-breathing exams, meaning patients don't have "to lie incredibly still or hold their breath during the procedure."
The upgrade extended the imaging service to work on upper and lower extremities.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Covenant Medical Center adds new surgical services in Lubbock
