Baystate Mary Lane Lane Introduces HALS — a New Surgical Practice
WARE — Baystate Mary Lane Hospital in Ware has introduced a new surgical practice that improves patient quality and patient experience.
“We have seen some growth in our surgical program, most recently we introduced a new practice called hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery, or HALS for short,” said Pam Wallace, R.N., manager of Surgical Services at BMLH. “Many surgical operations, from the simplest to the very complicated, are greatly facilitated by the introduction of a hand during laparoscopic surgery.”
In hand-assisted surgery, the surgeon can insert a hand through the small incision via a special pressurized sleeve. “With both a hand and laparoscopic instruments doing the work, the surgeon has more control over the operation and sense of depth and sensation of touch than cannot be gained through the lens of a camera,” said Dr. Richard Zlotnik, medical director, BMP of Mary Lane Surgery.
Zlotnik noted that hand-assisted laparoscopic surgeries are minimally invasive procedures commonly used to treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. “As a result, the person undergoing the procedure may experience less pain and scarring after surgery, and a more rapid recovery,” said Zlotnik.
“With HALS and other laparoscopic surgical procedures, patients experience a shorter hospital length of stay and can return to work and normal activities more quickly than if they had undergone traditional surgery,” said Zlotnik. “Surgeons find that the HALS surgery is another quality technique in the spectrum of procedures available to use here at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital.”
The BMLH Surgical Services department, located on the second floor of the hospital, offers a digestive health program, surgical procedures in multiple specialties, and pain management.
The Surgical Services Department features a day stay area for out-patient procedures, two digestive health-surgical procedure rooms, two full-service operating rooms, post anesthesia care, as well as a sterile processing department.
“We offer state-of-the-art facilities in terms of space and technology while providing flexibility to accommodate future advances in the rapidly changing field of medicine,” said Wallace. “The entire staff at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital is excited about the new surgical procedure and the increased options we are now able to provide to our patients in the community.”