Surgical

Services


The VMH Surgical Experience
Vernon Memorial Healthcare combines state-of-the-art equipment, surgery suites and techniques with a pleasant, personalized and caring environment to help patients and families through both minor and more complex procedures. 

Our Surgery Center sees hundreds of patients each year, with highly trained surgeons and anesthetists, and an expert team of nurses, nursing assistants and surgical technicians providing exceptional care. Ongoing collaboration with our dedicated support staff — imaging, lab and respiratory therapy — helps us provide the very best care, and our surgical site infection rate is better than national levels.

Our surgical suites are digital operating rooms that incorporate voice-activated technology and ultra-modern equipment to provide the very best care available.

Patient-Focused Surgery and Recovery
Before surgery, we encourage our patients to ask questions about any part of their care. Patients receive instructions about their surgical procedure, how they will be cared for that day and what to expect upon returning home, including detailed home care instructions. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to concerns or questions once you’re back home.

VMH Surgical Services

Our board-certified general surgeons provide perform a range of surgical procedures from hernia repair to gall bladder removal.

Our general surgery specialty areas include:

  • Breast biopsies
  • Caesarean sections
  • Colon resection
  • Hemorrhoid repair
  • Hernia repair
  • Hiatal hernia repair
  • Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal)
  • Urology
  • Vascular procedures

From ACL repair to hip resurfacing and total joint replacement, our skilled orthopaedic surgeons at the VMH Orthopaedic Center use the latest technology to surgically correct musculoskeletal problems and enable individuals to live fuller, more active lives.

Our orthopedic team uses the most advanced orthopaedic technologies, including minimally invasive surgery for hip and knee replacements as well as shoulder and knee reconstructions and computer-assisted surgery in knee and hip replacements. Hip resurfacing is also offered as an alternative for younger patients, along with a new, more effective surgery to repair a common sports-related knee injury, a double bundle technique for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.

Today, advancements in surgical technology have created a new category of minimally invasive surgery options. This means surgeons can perform major surgery through the smallest of incisions, incorporating miniature cameras with microscopes, tiny fiber-optic flashlights and high-definition video monitors during surgery.

Minimally invasive surgery offers patients significantly less pain, quicker recoveries for shorter hospital stays, faster returns to normal daily activities and the potential for better clinical outcomes.

The Ambulatory Care (or Same-Day Surgery Center) at VMH specializes in providing outstanding surgery outcomes in an outpatient setting. More than 720 same-day surgery cases are seen each year by VMH’s talented same-day surgery team, with the most common procedures being:

  • Ear, Nose and Throat
  • Urology
  • Podiatry
  • Ophthalmology (cataract surgery)
  • Orthopaedic arthroscopies

Anesthetists and technicians work as a team during surgical and diagnostic procedures in the operating room suite and other hospital locations. VMH Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) offer a wide spectrum of patient care, with specific focus on providing perioperative, critical care and pain management services.

Sedation, regional and general anesthesia, and analgesia are used to provide patients with a comfortable experience during procedures performed by surgeons and other physicians. State-of-the-art anesthesia and monitoring devices provide the safest experience possible. Services include:

  • Sedation, regional and general anesthesia, analgesia
  • Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiographic monitoring
  • Elective and emergency airway management
  • Perioperative peripheral and neuraxial nerve blocks for pain management
  • Perioperative vascular access
  • Epidurals

Patients undergoing anesthesia usually receive a preoperative evaluation that includes gathering a history of previous anesthetics and any medical problems, a physical examination, blood work and consultations prior to surgery.

Our VMH Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists:

Kenneth Hallwood, CRNA

Jeff Scheidt, CRNA

Mitchell Wilkins, CRNA

Brian Miller, CRNA

Lisa Pagel, CRNA

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have about your surgical procedure and your care. While in surgery, your loved ones may wait in our surgical waiting area located just down the hall from the operating room. This is where your surgeon will talk to them once your surgery is over.

Once your surgery is completed, you will be taken to a recovery room and be well cared for. In this area, you will be allowed to continue to wake up before you return to your room. The nurses will also monitor your pain, surgical site, breathing, blood pressure and circulation. If you are an outpatient, you will return to the same-day surgery unit once you are more awake. If you are an inpatient and will be spending the night, you will be taken to one of our many post-surgery rooms.

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