Patients undergoing certain surgeries inside Canberra Hospital's newest operating theatres can expect shorter post-operation stays, including not having to return for secondary procedures which can now be done in "one sitting".
Moruya's Ken Smith, a 75-year-old agriculturalist, was the first patient to receive planned surgery in one of the hybrid operation theatres in the newly-inaugurated critical services building.
His surgeon, Dr Gert Frahm-Jensen, showed great eagerness about using the space where the available technology superseded traditional operating theatres.
The improved experience included an operating table with the ability to provide real-time X-ray guidance for surgeons.
"It's really exciting for us as vascular surgeons," Dr Frahm-Jensen said.
"This allows us to do operations that we previously couldn't do in [Canberra].
"It's really brought us to the forefront of what's available in terms of surgical and medical technology in Australia."
He performed an endovascular repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a surgery if done in the old hospital building would require Mr Smith to be wheeled to an X-ray suite, away from the operation theatres.
"If there's then a complication [in radiology], it makes it more difficult to address," Dr Frahm-Jensen said.
"By having it up here in the operating theatre where we can deal with any unforeseen complications immediately.
"Just makes it a lot safer for the patients and easier for us as surgeons."
The doctor said aneurysms like Mr Smith's were a weakness in the main abdominal artery which could "balloon out" and eventually burst. He said this was often immediately fatal for patients.
"It was a pretty big [aneurysm], I'm very lucky," said Mr Smith, who had surgery on Wednesday and was discharged on Friday.
Dr Frahms-Jensen was one of many surgeons and hospital staff consulted for the design of the new theatres.
"We've been intimately involved in the design of the hybrid operating theaters and the procurement process, as well ensuring that we had equipment that was exactly what we needed," he said.
The doctor said the upgrades allowed for a wider range of operations to be done safely in the same session.
He revealed certain procedures previously required two surgeries to be done on separate occasions which was no longer necessary thanks to the hybrid rooms.
"We're hoping by having the one room where we can do all of our operations, we will reduce the time between operations where we've previously been moving staff and equipment from one room to another," Dr Frahms-Jensen said.
Reducing the number of people on the waitlist for surgery remained a goal for the vascular surgeon.
In the ACT's surgery waitlist updated on Friday, patients ready and waiting for vascular surgery were shown to be the most overdue in Category 1 (40 per cent) where surgery is recommended within 30 days and Category 2 (67 per cent) where surgery is recommended within 90 days.
Dr Frahms-Jensen hoped wait times would be cut down as a result of more operations taking place in the hybrid theatres and patients receiving "much more efficient care".
