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HELP FOR
DAMAGED
SPINES
Jackson’s gold seal
of approval for spine
surgery means that you can count on our
doctors to follow best practices when
performing back and neck surgeries—
whether they’re done to ease the chronic
pain of degenerative disk disease or spinal
stenosis, repair a fracture or spinal defor-
mity, or remove spinal cord tumors.
What’s more, Jackson’s spine surgeons
often perform minimally invasive
surgeries—using small incisions and
specialized instruments—to speed
recovery.
Among the surgeries our doctors
perform:
Spinal fusion.
One of the most com-
mon surgeries for back pain, a spinal
fusion permanently joins two or more
vertebrae in the spine.
Laminectomy.
Here surgeons often
remove bony overgrowths in the spinal
canal that can trigger pain and numbness
in the arms and legs.
Diskectomy.
Involves removing all or
part of a slipped or ruptured disk that’s
putting pressure on a spinal nerve and
causing pain and tingling.
Another plus for patients: During
surgery, our spine surgeons are continu-
ously guided by a 3-D imaging system.
This helps them operate with even more
precision.
“We have an exact roadmap of
each patient’s spine,” Dr. Ryan says.
“Consequently, we can place implants—
such as screws and rods during a spinal
fusion—with incredible accuracy.” That
accuracy also makes surgery safer by
reducing the risk for harming healthy
tissue during complex procedures.
And after the procedure, every patient
is cared for by a specialized medical team
dedicated to spine surgery—another way
we ensure quality care.
But as successful as spine surgery is at
Jackson, our surgeons only advise it when
it’s clearly beneficial and more conserva-
tive measures—such as physical therapy
and medication—aren’t effective.
“We don’t rush to the OR,” Dr. Ryan
says. “And when surgery is necessary, we
are very careful to select the right surgery
for the right problem for the right patient.”
SPARING
BRAIN CELLS
WITH SPEEDY
STROKE
TREATMENT
Successfully treating a stroke is a minute-
by-minute race against time. And it’s
one that Jackson Hospital—as a primary
stroke center—is committed to winning.
Why the hurry? Most strokes happen
when a blood clot blocks blood flow to
the brain and brain cells—starved of oxy-
gen and nutrients—quickly begin to die.
“The more time passes between a
stroke’s start and treatment, the more
likely that brain functions are perma-
nently lost,” says Jackson staff neurologist
Gregory Lipscomb, MD.
A powerful clot-busting drug called
tPA can restore blood flow, greatly
increasing the odds of surviving a stroke
with little or no lasting disability. But to
be effective, it must be administered in
a very narrow window of time: generally
within three hours after symptoms start.
To ensure the swiftest possible treat-
ment, Jackson Hospital has in place:
A rapid-response stroke team.
“Our
team is available 24/7 to quickly evaluate
and treat—with tPA, if appropriate—
anyone who might be having a stroke,” says
Dr. Lipscomb. That team always includes
a physician and others experienced in
diagnosing and treating strokes.
Excellent coordination with emer-
gency medical personnel.
This allows
TREATING
HEART
ATTACKS
By some estimates,
every year nearly
250,000 people nationwide have the most
dangerous type of heart attack. Called a
STEMI—that’s short for
ST-segment eleva-
tion myocardial infarction
—it’s caused by a
completely blocked artery affecting a large
part of the heart.
Anyone experiencing a STEMI needs
emergency angioplasty, a procedure in
which doctors open the blocked artery
with a small balloon at the tip of a cath-
eter. And to give patients the best odds
of survival and limit damage to the heart,
that angioplasty needs to be performed
quickly—within 90 minutes of arriving at
the hospital.
“That’s a national standard of care our
hospital consistently meets,” says Jackson
Hospital staff cardiologist Howard Brazil,
MD. “We pride ourselves on opening
blocked arteries swiftly.”
To ensure that frequently lifesaving
treatment, Jackson Hospital has the fol-
lowing practices in place:
An interventional cardiologist is always
available to perform emergency angio-
plasties and insert stents to keep newly
opened arteries from narrowing again.
Jackson Hospital also partners with
emergency medical personnel to stream-
line care. These first responders often
perform EKGs—which measure the
heart’s electrical activity—on the way
to the hospital, so treatment can start as
soon as the patients arrive.
Still another measure of our excel-
lence: Jackson is one of only two area
hospitals providing heart bypass surgery,
says Dr. Brazil. “In an emergency, we can
stop a heart attack with angioplasty and a
stent. But if heart disease is so severe that
open heart surgery is the best long-run
solution, that’s an option too. We offer
complete, first-rate care.”
care to start even before patients reach
our door. So our stroke team is fully
prepared to take over as soon as patients
arrive.
Fast brain imaging.
This is crucial,
since imaging—typically a CT scan—
is necessary to rule out bleeding in
the brain, which is an infrequent but
possible cause of a stroke. Because
tPA can be dangerous in this case,
imaging is always a part of
diagnosis.
“Everything is in place to give
stroke patients the best chance of a
complete recovery,” says Dr. Lipscomb.
That includes rehabilitation services—
such as speech or physical therapy—
that can start during a hospital stay.
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