LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The first procedures have been successfully completed in a new cardiac catheterization lab at San Martin Hospital, which is located at 8280 West Warm Springs Road in Las Vegas.
According to hospital officials, the new lab has state-of-the-art, real-time image processing, a ceiling-mounted system which provides more room for medical teams to perform procedures, and enhanced medical technology.
"We have newer screens that are larger with better resolution. We also have the capacity of imaging with less radiation," said Dr. Herbert Cordero, the Medical Director for the San Martin Cardiology Department. "We can now do something called pulse. Instead of a continuous flow of X-rays, you pulse them. The images that we're getting in this machine are so good that we're doing angiograms with a quarter of the dose [of radiation] that we were using before."
Hospital officials said the new lab also has the ability to image and measure the interior of the coronary artery, which allows doctors to better determine the anatomy and degree of a coronary blockage.
According to Cordero, the lab will be able to perform several types of procedures.
"It could be either plumbing or electrical. When you do plumbing procedures, it's angiograms and involves balloons, stints, and open arteries are plugged," Cordero explained. "In the electrical side, it's pacemakers or ablations where they burn areas of the heart that have bad electricity."
Cordero said the new lab will also allow them to take better care of their patients and allow them to spend less time in clinics and hospitals.
"When you have a stint, historically, [patients] would stay in the hospital but there are protocols approved by the American Heart Association where you can go home within four hours after stinting, if you meet certain criteria," Cordero said. "Wonderful things are going to happen with this new equipment and we're very excited."
