Perioperative and Procedural Services

Operating Room and Pre/Post

A nationally verified Level I Trauma Center, the hospital provides emergency surgical services around the clock. In addition, our surgical teams perform many advanced and highly complex procedures that draw patients from the Kansas City area, the state of Kansas, as well as from across the country. The hospital attracts international attention as a frequent trial site for surgical procedures that use robotics, computer-enhanced imaging, video, fiber optics and other advanced technologies to increase precision and minimize incision size. Coordination of staff, supplies and equipment to care for surgical patients during and after surgery demands teamwork, critical thinking and attention to detail

Bell Hospital Pre/Post

Preoperative and postoperative (peri-anesthesia) nurses collaborate with surgeons, anesthesiologists and OR nurses to ensure patients are ready for surgery. With 57 bays, services include orthopedics, ophthalmology, urology, transplant, general, plastics, breast, GYN, pediatrics, pulmonary and bariatric.

Bell Hospital Operating Room

Our OR is a Trauma I Center with 27 operating rooms. We typically see about 80 patients per day from the region, many of whom have complex illnesses or injuries. Among our specialties are trauma, critical care, transplant, plastics, orthopedics, gynecology, urology, burn, pulmonary, vascular, robotics, ophthalmology, bariatrics and general surgery.

CV OR – Pre/Post

This is a fast-paced, 6-bed unit that specializes in the prep and recovery of patients having procedures in the CV OR. With a 2:1 patient to RN ratio, this unit preps and recovers multiple patients per day, in addition to inpatient add-ons.

CV OR (Cardiovascular Operating Room)

Ours is the first hospital in the nation to achieve Comprehensive Cardiac Center Certification awarded by The Joint Commission. The certification criteria include outstanding patient outcomes and a patient-first philosophy where all specialties work together for the patients’ benefit.

The CV OR has 6 operating rooms. Its hybrid room serves as an advanced imaging suite and an operating room, allowing the latest, most technologically advanced procedures that require multiple doctors from different specialties. In this suite, we can perform high-risk operations without having to move patients to another area. Surgical procedures include coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), heart valve replacement and repair, heart transplant, VAD insertion, lung resection or removal, robot-assisted cardiac and thoracic procedures, esophageal and tracheal procedures, aortic aneurysm repair, carotid endarterectomy, combined cases with Cath Lab, EP Lab and Interventional Radiology, and minimally invasive valve replacement. Since 2007, U.S. News & World Report has ranked our cardiology and heart surgery services among the nation’s top 50.

Cambridge Tower A Pre/Post

Preoperative and postoperative (post-anesthesia) nurses collaborate with surgeons, anesthesiologists and OR nurses to ensure patients are ready for surgery. This unit specializes in the preoperative preparation and post-anesthesia recovery of neurology, ENT and surgical oncology patients, including outpatient, inpatient and ICU-level cases. With 27 bays, our patient census is typically 20 to 30 cases per day.

Cambridge Tower A Operating Room

The most critically ill patients in the nation come to our hospital in Cambridge Tower A, which is home to surgical oncology, neurology, neurosurgery and ENT services. Here, there are 11 operating rooms, plus an intraoperative MRI (iMRI) surgical suite. Procedures include craniotomies for tumor resections, aneurysm clippings, spinal fusions, endoscopic sinus surgery, neck dissection and reconstruction, robotic procedures for surgical oncology and ENT, diagnostic procedures and many more.

Ambulatory Surgery Centers

At our ambulatory surgery centers at KU Med West and Indian Creek Campus, we provide same-day outpatient surgical care in friendly, comfortable surroundings for our patients. The centers have surgical suites and private pre-operative rooms where family can stay with patients before their procedures.

Perioperative Services – Procedural Areas

Cardiac Labs Pre/Post

The CVLPP is a 22-bed outpatient unit that preps and recovers patients having elective cardiovascular procedures in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab and the Electrophysiology Lab. Length of stay for outpatients is typically less than 24 hours. The CVLPP also preps and recovers inpatients undergoing cardiovascular procedures in the cardiovascular labs and provides infusion therapy for outpatient heart failure patients. The CVLPP opens Mondays at 6 a.m. and closes on Saturdays by noon. The staff in CVLPP consists of a unit coordinator, RNs, cardiovascular technicians and a unit secretary.

Cardiac Labs (Catheterization and Electrophysiology)

Around the clock, our interventional experts in the cath lab use the latest technology to diagnose and treat arterial blockages and to perform the most advanced procedures for emergency patients. Procedures to diagnose or treat abnormal heart rhythms are performed in our electrophysiology suites. One suite houses revolutionary, remote-navigation stereotaxis technology, which allows our specialists to use powerful external magnets to guide an internal magnet-tipped catheter safely and accurately through the blood vessels and chambers of the heart. Stereotaxis makes it possible to safely reach and treat previously inaccessible areas.

GI/Endoscopy

These nurses participate in the diagnosis and treatment of patients who have a variety of gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions. The nurses often assist with diagnostic and highly advanced therapeutic procedures such a bronchoscopies, colonoscopies, EGDs, ERCPs, endoscopic ultrasound, and lung and liver biopsies. Some procedures involve heavy sedation, so nurses gain valuable experience monitoring patients at a critical-care level. This care area also offers nurses the opportunity to work closely with physicians in research studies that advance patient treatment.

Inpatient Dialysis

Here, nurses work together to care for patients who have complex healthcare conditions resulting from kidney disease and renal failure. Many of these patients receive hemodialysis treatments.

Interventional Radiology

One of the largest IR departments in the Unites States, ours serves inpatients and outpatients of all ages and acuity levels, completing about 50 procedures a day at the main campus. IR provides minimally invasive procedures using imaging technology, and our nurses deliver complete patient care in a 23-bed pre/post unit and in eight procedural suites. IR nurses provide patient prep and recovery, complete patient and family education and teaching, routine monitoring, and moderate sedation during interventional radiologic procedures. Because the patients vary greatly in type and acuity, IR nurses often care for ambulatory and critical care patients on the same day. The nurse-patient ratio in IR is usually 1:1. Further, nurses get the benefits of caring for critical care patients while not working holidays or weekends.

Radiology

Radiology nurses care for patients of all acuity types, and they support all areas of radiology: MRI, CT, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, and breast imaging. Nurses may work at the main hospital, the Indian Creek Campus, the Westwood Campus, the West Plaza facility, or our Medical Office Building. Nurses support the radiology process by screening patients for contraindications to imaging processes, completing patient assessments, providing vascular access for imaging, and providing patient monitoring. In our breast imaging area, nurses assist physicians during procedures, work with patients during prep and testing, provide extensive patient education, and ensure that patients get their results in a timely manner.

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