Hybrid OR gives surgeon real-time view of vessel repair

Deborah Railton’s life was saved by being in the right place at the right time. 

“In 2018, I had the worst headache of my life with pain down my neck,” she said. “I went to the ER and was medevacked to Harborview. I see stories of people all over the country and the kind of care that they get. And I realize I'm very blessed to be here in the Northwest.” 

At Harborview Medical Center, Dr. Michael Levitt performed surgery to stop the bleeding of a ruptured aneurysm in Railton's brain. An aneurysm is a pouch, or weakened area, that forms in a blood vessel wall. Railton's surgery averted her immediate danger. 

For the past six years, she has lived a mostly normal life. Residual limitations, like not being able to jump or skip, are small. During a follow-up this year with Levitt, he noticed an issue.  

“We do regular follow-up imaging to make sure that the aneurysm doesn't recur,” he said. "Most of them don't, and those that do tend to recur rather early, but hers, for whatever reason, decided to start recurring a little bit later.” 

Levitt performed surgery in Harborview's hybrid operating room to again repair her weakened brain vessel. The scanner in the hybrid OR enabled him to visualize the stent as he advanced it to the exact site of the aneurysm. 

“A stent is sort of a rolled up little piece of metal that we place across the aneurysm. What that does is it slows blood flow getting into the aneurysm and acts a barrier,” Levitt said. 

Before the hybrid OR existed, Levitt and other surgeons had to transport their patients between operation and imaging rooms in different parts of the hospital. Now that patient transport is no longer needed. 

“The ability to treat patients quickly throughout the day becomes easier when the operating room and the staff can do cases like this, but also a wide variety of other surgical and endovascular cases all on the same day,” Levitt said. “That makes it easier for patients to be seen and treated sooner.”  

Railton is glad to live close enough to access this advanced technology. She also appreciates that she was transferred to Harborview Medical Center after treatment at another hospital's emergency room. 

“I'm very blessed that I got here in time and that Levitt was the one who did my procedure,” Railton said. “I mean the treatment, the ICU, I don't remember, but it was hands-on continuous. And the nurses too. So blessed.” 

Download broadcast-ready soundbites and related multimedia with Railton and Levitt.

Written by Nathan Hyun.

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