There is some good news for Sault Area Hospital patients who need breast surgery.
Planning is underway to implement MOLLI, a new technology purchased by SAH in February.
MOLLI technology aims to localize breast lesions so they can be removed more efficiently.
It involves implanting a wire-free and radiation-free magnetic ‘seed’ by a radiologist in diagnostic imaging. The seed is then able to pinpoint lesions - which can be benign or malignant - with greater accuracy.
A surgeon then uses a special wand to detect the seed and the lesion during surgery.
The new technology has its benefits for both surgeons and patients.
A MOLLI seed can be implanted up to 30 days prior to the surgery.
In the past, surgeons inserted a wire into the lesion on the day of the surgery.
“The MOLLI allows for more efficient workflows for clinicians and greater comfort and convenience for the patients,” said Ila Watson, SAH president and CEO, in a written report to the hospital’s board of directors for its meeting Monday.
Other positive developments contained in Watson’s report Monday include additions to SAH’s medical staff.
SAH’s psychiatry department has successfully recruited Dr. Megan Stewart, who has completed her residency at NOSM University.
Stewart trained locally in her residency and intends to set up her practice at SAH this summer
Dr. Asad Naveed will join SAH on April 2 as research manager. He is an MD from the University of Sierra Leone.
Naveed has also done post-doctoral research in trauma and acute care surgery at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and brings in-the-field experience from the Ebola outbreak.
“Passionate about leveraging AI to improve health outcomes, he has strong skills in clinical trial design, grant writing, and data analysis,” Watson wrote in her report to the board.