Chicoutimi Hospital: State-of-the-art technology coming soon

The Chicoutimi Hospital Foundation has launched a new fundraising campaign to purchase a spinal endoscopy device whose technology could change the lives of many patients in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.

The new equipment, at a cost of $400,000, makes it possible to perform a variety of surgical procedures on the spine, including herniated discs or cases of arthritis or osteoarthritis.

This new procedure involves an incision of less than one centimeter.

“It's the equipment and the way of doing things that really sets the Chicoutimi hospital apart. We're the only hospitals in Quebec that we can offer to all the people in the region. It's revolutionary technology,” said Martin Gagnon, general director of the Fondation de Ma vie.

“The main thing is to convert many of the cases we do to day surgery,” said Dr. Added by Godefroy Hardy Saint-Pierre. “Instead of contracting the muscles and tearing them apart, we can go through a much smaller hole. And visualization with a camera allows, in a safe way, to dissect neural structures.

The arrival of a new doctor

But to use this kind of revolutionary equipment, you need expertise and that is definitely the other good news for Chicoutimi Hospital.

A new doctor of Brazilian origin has just joined the neurosurgery team. Dr. Ramon Guerra Barbosa chose to settle in Saguenay.

He has been using this procedure for four years and has more than 700 operations to his credit. He also teaches this method in several European countries.