“I’d had abdominal pain and a fever for a few days before I went to a doctor who sent me straight to Delta Hospital,” explains Thomas Wachowski.
“Four hours later, I had surgery for a ruptured appendix. The surgeon told my wife that if I’d waited another day, it would not have gone well for me.”
Surgeries like Thomas’s emergency appendectomy are one of many performed daily in Delta Hospital’s busy Surgical Services Department.
While most procedures performed at Delta Hospital are scheduled, every single procedure is vitally important, with the hospital providing a wide range of surgeries to help people in the community.
From general surgeries such as orthopaedic, ophthalmology, and gynecological, to cancer-related surgeries, these daily procedures directly improve people’s lives and, in some cases, save them, like Thomas.
Since joining the hospital in 2002, Dr. Dan Robibo, general surgeon, and department head of surgery at Delta Hospital, has seen the surgical services department expand and evolve to meet the needs of Delta’s growing population.
“As demand increases, we continue to add more surgical services and more surgeons to our team,” he explains.
“Our surgical daycare unit is one of the busiest day surgery sites in the Fraser Health region. Over 7,900 surgeries are performed every year in our three operating rooms, and approximately 3,500 endoscopies in our endoscopy suite.”
Dr. Robibo continues that by providing a wide range of day surgeries in the community, patients don’t have to travel to other facilities where they would often be placed on long waitlists.
“After surgeries, our patients are close to home and close to their families, which improves their experience and ultimately strengthens our community’s overall health,” he says.
Maintaining a high patient flow depends not only on skilled staff but also on reliable, state-of-the-art equipment. Many of the tools used daily need replacement or upgrades to ensure that healthcare professionals can continue to provide excellent healthcare to patients.
“Having state-of-the-art equipment allows our patients to have the best possible outcomes,” Dr. Robibo explains. “For emergency patients like Thomas, our department is a lifesaver.”
Delta Hospital urgently needs support to upgrade and refresh equipment in the surgical services department.
The items included on the Surgical Services Equipment List allow healthcare providers to supply patients like Thomas and others in the Delta community with optimal surgical outcomes.
To learn more and donate, visit dhchfoundation.ca.
