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Day surgery available in Red Deer for mastectomy patients

Program adapted for Central Alberta
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The Same-Day Mastectomy program is benefiting cancer patients at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre. (Photo by SUSAN ZIELINSKI/Advocate staff)

A day surgery program for breast cancer patients is benefiting almost half of Central Albertans requiring mastectomies.

The same-day mastectomy program was pushed out across the province in 2017.

Red Deer surgeon Dr. Glen Vajcner said local criteria have been developed for the program, so it isn’t the same as Calgary’s or Edmonton’s.

“Our geography is different than, say, a patient in Calgary. Someone who lives over an hour away, we’re not likely going to offer it. We don’t want somebody to drive on the highway on the winter roads for an hour and a half if they’re having a problem on the day after surgery,” Vajcner said.

He said safety nets were established so patients who need to return to hospital don’t have to go to the emergency department. They would go to the short-stay unit, where there are standing orders for these patients and the on-call surgeon would be contacted right away.

“So far, we haven’t had to enact that pathway, but the safety net is there for patients.”

He said prior to the new program, surgery patients would be admitted for a short stay.

“From a planning perspective, we had to make sure we had those beds available. Now, they show up for day surgery, which is a faster turnover unit,” he said of the day surgery, where patients don’t stay longer than 24 hours.

Vajcner said right now, the limiting factor for breast cancer surgery at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre is the availability of operating rooms. Even if there were more surgeons, there isn’t operating room access.

In the 2017-18 fiscal year, Alberta Health Services’ central zone experienced between 150 to 200 new breast cancer referrals.

Dr. May Lynn Quan, a medical lead with the provincial breast health initiative, said the same-day mastectomy program has resulted in multiple benefits.

“This work means that rather than stay overnight in hospital, more mastectomy patients are returning to the comfort of their own home the same day as their breast cancer surgery,” Quan said.

Educational materials have been created to help patients manage at home, exercise for recovery, and recognize what normal issues may arise after surgery and potential complications that may need medical attention.



szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com

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