Atlantic Canada’s first hybrid operating room opens at Halifax hospital

The hybrid operating room, which has been described as “unique” by the Nova Scotia government, includes advanced diagnostic imaging equipment and is the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada. (SOURCE: N.S. Department of Public Works/Twitter)

A new, specialized operating room is now open at the Halifax Infirmary site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre.

The hybrid operating room, which has been described as “unique” by the Nova Scotia government, includes advanced diagnostic imaging equipment and is the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada.

The province says patients having cardiac or vascular surgery will be able to undergo diagnostic testing in the operating room if complications arise, which is safer for patients. Surgical teams can also use the room for minimally invasive procedures like inserting catheters, guidewires or balloons through small incisions. It can also be used for more complex, open surgeries.

“We’re excited to see the completion of this important infrastructure project that will greatly improve the delivery of health-care services,” MLA Colton LeBlanc said in a news release.

The Stewart E. Allen Hybrid Operating Room is named after the Truro-based business leader and philanthropist who donated $1 million to the project. It opened in October.

For Eileen MacGibbon, the vice-president of operations for Nova Scotia Health’s Central Zone, hybrid operating rooms are “the way of the future.”

“Most everything needed for the patient can be provided in one room; emergencies or complications can be handled in one location without needing to transport the patient between radiology and operating suites,” MacGibbon said in the release. “As well, a hybrid OR provides enormous flexibility in what surgeries can be performed.”

The opening of the hybrid operating room comes after the QEII Foundation raised $4 million to support medical equipment purchases.