Annual Report - Winthrop University Hospital

Winthrop-University Hospital 2011 Annual ReportPerhaps the most exciting advancement in prostate cancertreatment is use of CyberKnife technology. Despite its name,CyberKnife is not surgery. Rather, it is a technology that takesradiotherapy to new levels, and it has proven highly successfulfor treating prostate cancer. As a matter of fact, Winthrop isthe second largest site in the world for treating prostate cancerwith CyberKnife technology. Our hospital also is a designatedCyberKnife training site, attracting surgeons from around theworld interested in learning to use this state-of-the-art technology.CyberKnife uses a combination of advanced imaging equipmentand a robotic arm to deliver high doses of radiation therapywith higher precision than previously possible. Extraordinarilyaccurate, the radiation beams can be sculpted to reach small,deeply imbedded, complex masses, thereby minimizing damageto healthy tissue and providing access to previously unreachableand untreatable tumors throughout the body when radiationtherapy is indicated. Treatments generally take 20 to 30minutes each day for five days or less, adding to the technique’smany advantages over previous treatments.Winthrop currently is one of the few sites in the world usingCyberKnife to treat breast cancer tumors, and our hope is thatthis foundational work will lead to advances in breast cancertreatment.Life-saving cardiac careHeart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.About every 25 seconds an American will have a coronaryevent and approximately one person will die each minute asa result, according to an American Heart Association study.Winthrop’s Heart and Vascular Institute offers advanced diagnosticsand disease prevention programs, as well as a superiorcardiac surgery program and sophisticated medical treatmentand cardiac rehabilitation services that save the lives of thousandsof patients each year.At 39 weeks pregnant, Hempstead resident Tracey Mallory hadalready suffered through a host of complications. A busy professional,Mrs. Mallory was getting prenatal care close to herworkplace in New York City and was planning to deliver at ahospital there.But Mrs. Mallory’s plans changed suddenly when she began bleeding andhaving contractions while at home on Long Island. Concerned that she did nothave time to make the trip into New York City to see her doctor, her husbanddrove her to Winthrop, only minutes away from their home.“Mrs. Mallory was in active labor and although her plan was for the baby tobe turned so she could deliver naturally, there was just no time,” said Dr. ArinBuresch, Acting Chief Resident in Ob/Gyn. With her consent, she was broughtinto the Operating Room for an emergency C-section.Dr. Joseph Cioffi, Director, Division of Ob/Gyn Hospitalists at Winthrop,discovered that uterine fibroids were posing a significant threat to both her andher baby and that Mrs. Mallory had had a placental abruption, a complicationin which the placental lining separates from the uterus, causing blood to fill upinside of the amniotic sac.Dr. Cioffi and his team worked diligently to deliver the baby safely while alsotreating Mrs. Mallory’s conditions. Three days later, both Evan and Mrs. Mallorywere discharged from the Hospital in good health.“Had Mrs. Mallory attempted the trip to the City, her baby would have diedfrom complications, and she might have died as well from loss of blood. Herstory demonstrates how important it is for women to immediately seek medicalattention from the right institution when complications arise,” Dr. Cioffi said.15