… There are no patients in the oncology center yet, but in the spacious hall on the first floor they have already turned on the escalators and put up an elegant New Year tree.
“The new cancer center was built thanks to the assistance provided by the Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Volodin,” the minister recalled.
According to Vladimir Dudakov, with the commissioning of a new medical facility, the system of oncological care in the region will enter a new stage of its development. Experts expect that in the Saratov region the detection of cancer in the early stages and their effective treatment will improve.
One of the main advantages of the new cancer clinic is that it will be located in a specially built room, and not a specially adapted one, as in many other even larger cities. Everything here is thought out and provided for the treatment of cancer patients.
The new building has six operating rooms with a special ventilation system, which additionally protects wounds from infection. Two of them are “smart” with video cameras for communication with other medical centers, which can be installed directly during the operation. Also in these operating rooms, the surgeon can independently control all the equipment using a sterile panel, and also display the results of all previously conducted examinations and images of the patient on the monitor screen.
As the chief physician of the regional oncology clinic, Boris Meilakh, told an RG correspondent, the six operating rooms that operate in the old oncology center in the Smirnovsky Gorge will also remain. This will double the “throughput” of the surgical service, and taking into account the fact that the new building is equipped with equipment for performing health-saving laparoscopic operations, after which patients recover faster and get back on their feet within the first day, more than doubled.
Three new departments will open in the new building: oncourology, oncohematology and rehabilitation.
Photo: Andrey Kulikov/RG
According to the head of the X-ray department, Viktor Kuleshov, thanks to the new dispensary, the stock of diagnostic equipment is also significantly expanding.
For example, the oncology center has a magnetic resonance imaging scanner with a function for examining the mammary glands. For the first time, patients will be able to undergo such examinations in the region under the compulsory health insurance (CHI) program.
“Examinations using mammography and ultrasound are not always informative; it is especially difficult to detect cancer in the early stages in young women, and this device will allow diagnosing the disease in almost 100 percent of cases,” said Viktor Kuleshov.
The PET-CT and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) devices installed in the oncology center allow doctors not only to identify foci of cancer, but also to determine the effectiveness of the treatment.
Previously, for diagnosis of cancer, Saratov residents often had to go to medical institutions in other regions. Now these examinations can be performed in Saratov.
Also, for the first time in the history of the region’s oncology service, the oncology clinic received an angiograph. As Vladimir Dudakov said, with the help of such equipment, doctors will be able to cut off the blood supply to the tumor, slow down its growth, and stop bleeding. In addition, it can be used in cases where cancer patients develop acute coronary syndrome or heart attack; now such patients will be provided with care on the spot, without transferring them to cardiology.
Photo: Andrey Kulikov/RG
To treat cancer patients with non-surgical methods, the oncology center has installed three new modern accelerators.
According to Deputy Chief Physician for Radiology Gennady Nayanov, this equipment is “top of the line” in radiotherapy.
Radiotherapy treatment of oncological diseases of the head and neck, gynecology and urology, as well as mammary glands will be carried out on the low-energy Halcyon linear accelerator. It features better “target” accuracy, high performance and safety for patients.
The device can treat up to 100 people per day, or two to three times more than with equipment of earlier generations.
“The treatment is carried out very quickly, within two minutes, most of the time is spent on undressing and dressing the patients, so the office has four changing rooms at once,” says Gennady Nayanov.
The TrueBeam high-energy linear accelerator is intended for radiosurgical treatment of tumors of the brain, pancreas, kidneys, and liver. Moreover, according to experts, the therapeutic effect of one session is comparable to surgery.
About 30 patients per day can be treated with such equipment.
In total, the hospital is designed for simultaneous stay of more than 200 patients. In addition, the outpatient department will operate a day hospital for another 15 people.
There are comfortable rooms for one, two and three patients, with refrigerators, a bathroom and a shower. The rooms have air conditioning and the transoms on the windows open automatically. All places are equipped with oxygen and buttons to call medical staff.
Photo: Andrey Kulikov/RG
“The wards of the day hospital provide the opportunity for relatives to stay,” said Ekaterina Kuzevanova, head of the department of antitumor drug therapy.
For this purpose, folding couches were placed there.
Also, for the first time in the region, the hospital will open a hotel for 30 people, designed to accommodate patients coming from remote areas.
The working conditions of doctors in the hospital will also improve; there will be a buffet for medical staff in the oncology center.
“Young doctors note that they are interested in working on new modern equipment, this allows a specialist to grow professionally and gain prospects for further work,” explains Boris Meilakh.
As for the former complex of oncology dispensary buildings in the Smirnovsky Gorge, it is planned to create a full-cycle oncology mammology complex there on the basis of the existing department, as the chief physician said, so that in one place patients can undergo complete diagnosis and treatment.
A screening program to detect breast cancer among residents of the region will be launched in the near future.
“Our doctors will review all images from regional hospitals so as not to miss a single tumor,” said Boris Lvovich.
The regional Ministry of Health has not yet announced the start date for the new dispensary, but they say that this will happen “in the near future.”
According to Vladimir Dudakov, it is initially planned to open a day hospital in the new oncology center, then a chemotherapy department, and then gradually other departments.
Source: rg.ru
