2019
Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre performs first paediatric robot-assisted neurosurgery in Ontario
A London youth was the first paediatric patient in Ontario to receive a robot-assisted stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) procedure that was performed by the Paediatric Epilepsy Program at Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). LHSC was previously the first in Ontario to robotically perform the SEEG procedure on adult patients, successfully transferring the knowledge and skill set to the specialized team of paediatric neurosurgeons.2018
LHSC launched genetic lab tests across North America for a range of diseases and disorders
A multi-gene panel technology developed by LHSC became available through the global life sciences company LabCorp® to perform genetic testing for Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease, epilepsy, and mitochondrial disorders. Availability of these genetic tests outside of Ontario through this licensing agreement will generate revenue for LHSC that can be used to fund further advances in patient care, and will also lead to benefits for patients and care providers as a result of the rich database of genetic biomarkers that will be interpreted and housed by LHSC’s lab. Analysis of that database will allow researchers and clinicians to better understand how different genetic mutations influence disease, with the potential to help inform decisions on the best course of treatment for each patient.
LHSC pioneered two cardiac surgical firsts
Surgeons at LHSC pioneered the use of a new trans-catheter aortic valve in two cardiac surgical firsts. In a Canadian first, a multidisciplinary heart team at University Hospital implanted a device called the Medtronic Pro Valve through a patient’s femoral artery. One week later, a second patient in need of a similar valve replacement underwent a world-first procedure when the Medtronic Evolut Pro Valve was implanted directly through the main aorta. Both procedures avoid the need for open-heart surgery and the extensive recovery that valve replacement surgery requires.
LHSC performed world-first robotic cardiac surgery
LHSC performed the world’s first robotic assisted aortic valve replacement in patients with aortic valve stenosis, using the da Vinci® surgical system. The procedure was performed by a multidisciplinary team, led by Dr. Bob Kiaii using a tissue valve called the Perceval S Valve from Liva Nova. This new generation valve is a suture-less valve, which facilitates performance of less invasive aortic valve replacement. This marks the first time the da Vinci® robot has been used to perform this delicate procedure on a patient diagnosed with aortic stenosis - a narrowing of the aortic artery due to calcification.
2017
LHSC epilepsy patients first in Ontario to benefit from robot-assisted neurosurgery
LHSC’s Epilepsy Program became the first in Ontario to perform a robotic-assisted stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) procedure, in which electrodes are placed into the brain to map epileptic seizure activity. Once the seizure onset is localized, neurosurgeons can determine whether a good seizure outcome may be possible through brain surgery.
2016
The colorectal surgery team at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) performed the first robotic ventral rectopexy in Canada to treat a condition called obstructive defecation syndrome.
2015
The heart team at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is the first in North America to implant Medtronic’s Engager Valve in a transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedure.
London Health Sciences Centre’s (LHSC) cardiac surgery program is the first in Canada to use a new suture fastening system during open heart surgery. Using the COR-KNOT System, the surgeon places the device over the suture, squeezes the device handle to crimp a titanium fastener, which securely holds the suture together, and gently tugs the suture to trim away excess suture tails.
2014
LHSC first in North America to implant the ACURATE TA™ transcatheter aortic valve implantation.
2013
An LHSC surgeon is the first in Canada to perform a robotic single-site gallbladder removal - or cholecystectomy. With this procedure, the gallbladder is removed through a single small incision, hidden in the belly button, and patients experience virtually scarless results.
LHSC is the first in North America to perform a BONEBRIDGE bone conduction implant. BONEBRIDGE is new technology developed by MED-El Medical Electronics that makes it possible for people with hearing impairments, including conductive and mixed hearing losses or single-sided deafness, to hear a full range of sounds.
LHSC and Lawson Health Research Institute perform world first treatment of localized prostate cancer. The treatment - transurethral magnetic resonance (MR) guided ultrasound ablation for prostate cancer - utilizes a new ablation device that uses thermal ultrasound therapy with real-time MR image guidance to eliminate cancer cells in the prostate gland.
London Health Sciences Centre is the first in North America to use the Geko™ blood circulation device and first in the world to use the device in cardiac surgery. The self-contained geko™ device is designed to increase blood flow by activating the muscle pumps in the lower leg that return blood to the heart, emulating the blood flow rate normally achieved by walking (up to 70 per cent), without the patient having to move or exert energy.
2012
London Health Ssciences Centre announces a Canadian surgical first to remove cancer from the liver. Formally called an associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for stage hepatectomy, or ALPPS procedure, the surgical first is that both stages of the hepatectomy, or removal of the liver, are completed in one week to ensure that cancer does not spread to other parts of the liver.
LHSC cardiologists Dr. Lorne Gula and Dr. Jaimie Manlucu became the first in Canada to use a pressure sensing catheter to perform a pulmonary vein ablation for atrial fibrillation.
2011
London Health Sciences Centre announces another world first after LHSC's cardiac surgery team successfully performed an emergency surgery to repair a hole in a patient’s heart caused by a pacemaker complication using the DaVinci robot. Traditionally, this surgery is done via open chest surgery.
LHSC is the first hospital in Canada to use wireless technology for hemodynamic evaluation, or the evaluation of pressures and flow in patient’s hearts.
LHSC announced a Canadian first for a surgical treatment for throat cancer after surgeons performed the first robotically assisted and minimally invasive laryngectomy (or the removal of a small portion of the voicebox.)
2010
Doctors at LHSC become the first in the world to use the Correx AVB device, a new implantable surgical device that promises to revolutionize aortic valve bypass surgery by reducing its complexity through a specialized delivery mechanism that renders the surgery almost bloodless, eliminating the need to stop the heart and put the patient on a heart-lung bypass machine.
Children’s Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre is the first hospital in Ontario to implement the Period of PURPLE Crying® program in their emergency department. The Period of PURPLE Crying® program provides important information to parents and caregivers regarding infant crying patterns and comforting strategies, and education on Shaken Baby Syndrome.
A North American first in providing peritoneal home dialysis patients with touch screen technology and access to a health coach from home was achieved at LHSC.
2009
LHSC and Lawson Health Research Institute (Lawson) announce a Canadian first in the treatment of lung cancer, removing a small wedge from the patient’s lung and then applying a surgical mesh interwoven with brachytherapy seeds to where the lung was resected.
LHSC became the first hospital in North America to use a robotic-arm neuro-angiogram machine in an operating room.
2008
LHSC is the first in North America to implant an insertable cardiac monitor that offers long-term and continuous monitoring for atrial fibrillation, the most common cardiac arrhythmia.
LHSC performs the world’s first robotically-assisted intestinal bypass surgery for a patient with superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome, also known as Wilkie’s syndrome, using the da Vinci® robot.
LHSC’s Sterile Processing Department is the first hospital in Canada to implement Censitrac software, tracking medical instruments at the individual level.
2007
Canada’s first totally endoscopic closed-chest robotic coronary artery bypass surgery on a patient’s beating heart is performed at LHSC
Canada’s first robotic-assisted common bile duct exploration using a da Vinci robot is performed at LHSC
2006
An LHSC team is one of two independent Canadian teams to first use new electroanatomical mapping technology to perform a pulmonary vein ablation for atrial fibrillation
2005
World’s first robotic-assisted left atrial appendage ligation to reduce the chance of clot formation and stroke in high risk patients with atrial fibrillation is performed at LHSC
Canada’s first minimally invasive robotic-assisted double bypass surgery is performed at LHSC
Canada’s first robotic-assisted multi vessel small thorocotomy is performed at LHSC
2004
LHSC’s Image-Guided surgery team performed the world’s first image-guided robotic-assisted thoracoscopic resection of a lung cancer using Computer Motion’s AESOP® robotic arm and a 3-dimensional ultrasound probe
Esophageal Surgery team performed Canada’s first robotic-assisted laparoscopic transhiatal esophagectomy for esophageal cancer using Computer Motion’s AESOP® robotic arm (2004/May/31).
Esophageal Surgery team performed Canada’s first robotic-assisted transthoracic endoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer using Computer Motion’s AESOP® robotic arm (2004/September/27).
In a Canadian first in research for CSTAR (Canadian Surgical Technologies & Advanced Robotics), the four-armed da Vinci robot was used throughout a surgery to complete a radical prostatectomy
A CSTAR team is the first in North America to complete two different procedures to clear blocked arteries, minimally invasive robotic-assisted heart bypass surgery and angioplasty with stenting, at the same time in the operating room
In a North American first, an interdisciplinary team successfully removes a renal artery aneurysm with the help of a da Vinci surgical robot
A small, multi-channel recording and stimulating device that aids in deep brain stimulation is developed at LHSC
2003
Urologists at LHSC are the first in Canada to use the three-armed ZEUS robot to correct a blockage in the ureter of the kidney
Results of an international study show that the common high blood pressure drug ramipril can prevent heart failure in high risk cardiovascular patients
LHSC is the first in Canada and one of three in the world to use revolutionary digital technology to produce detailed fluoroscopic images for diagnostic and interventional procedures
LHSC surgeons are the first in Canada to use a four-armed da Vinci robot to complete a single coronary artery bypass graft
LHSC’s Pulmonary surgery performed Canada’s first robotic-assisted lobectomy for lung cancer using Computer Motion’s AESOP® robotic arm
2002
An LHSC study determines that patients with congestive heart failure have an improved quality of life with a new pacemaker that works on both sides of the heart
LHSC cardiologists complete a left atrial appendage occlusion, a new procedure for stroke prevention that closes the area of the heart where the majority of blood clots form
Neurosurgeons at LHSC complete the first artificial cervical disc replacement in North America
LRCC is one of two sites in Canada and one of three in the world to have a tomotherapy unit, the newest radiation treatment technology
2001
LHSC’s Pulmonary surgery team performed the world’s first robotic-assisted lung volume reduction using Computer Motion’s AESOP® robotic arm
LHSC’s Pulmonary surgery team performed Canada’s first robotic-assisted resection of a lung cancer using Computer Motion’s AESOP® robotic arm
LHSC’s Pulmonary surgery team performed Canada’s first robotic-assisted apical bullectomy for a pneumothorax using Computer Motion’s AESOP® robotic arm
Using Socrates robotic technology, LHSC conducts the world's first robotic-assisted surgery via telementoring, in which one surgeon assisted and mentored another at a remote site and both manipulated robotic arms inside the patient in the operating room
LHSC researchers are the first in the world to find strong evidence to support that surgery, not medicine, is the key to improved quality of life for temporal lobe epilepsy
The first artificial disc replacement in Canada is completed at LHSC
2000
LHSC's transplant team performs the first adult-to-adult living donor partial-liver transplant in Canada
LHSC's surgical team performs the first minimally invasive robotic-assisted mitral valve heart surgery in Canada
1999
LHSC's surgical team successfully completes the world's first closed-chest, robotic-assisted beating heart coronary artery bypass graft
1998
An LHSC team is the first in Canada to perform voice-activated robotic-assisted minimally invasive cardiac bypass surgery
1997
LHSC's Multi-Organ Transplant team transplants a liver, bowel, stomach, and pancreas into a five-month-old infant, the world's youngest recipient of a multi-organ transplant
An LHSC nephrologist performs a world-first in plasma exchange treatment and is credited with saving the life of a man with a severe case of food poisoning
LHSC cardiac surgeons are the first in Canada to perform a revolutionary method of video-assisted minimally invasive heart surgery
1996
A team of researchers accomplishes a world-first when they develop a miniature recording device that monitors the heartbeat during fainting spells
1994
The world's first 3D ultrasound-guided cryosurgery is performed at University Hospital
1993
Victoria and University hospitals collaborate on Canada's first living-related paediatric liver transplant
1991
A study begins at University Hospital on the safety and efficacy of using detachable platinum coils to treat brain aneurysms
1990
LRCC is the first in Canada to use the radioactive source Ytterbium for treatment
1989
The first cardiac stent insertion in Canada is performed at Victoria Hospital
The world's first invasive inner ear surgery for vertigo in normal hearing ears is conducted at University Hospital
1988
The world's first successful liver-small bowel transplant is performed at University Hospital
The London Regional Cancer Centre (now LRCP) is the first Canadian site to treat malignant melanoma and kidney disease patients with Interleukin-2
1987
The world's first cardiac defibrillator is implanted at University Hospital
1985
A University Hospital team announces success in a trial using cyclosporine to arrest the progress of Type 1 diabetes
1983
University Hospital is the first in Canada to perform a heart-lung transplant
1981
University Hospital performs the world's first heart operation to correct life threatening right ventricular dysplasia
1972
Operations begin on cerebral aneurysms using a technique that establishes University Hospital’s worldwide reputation
1958
Dr. Charles Drake pioneers a surgical procedure for aneurysms at the base of the brain, called basilar aneurysms, a World first
1956
The London Clinic of the Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation at Victoria Hospital (now the London Regional Cancer Program [LRCP]) and The University of Western Ontario discover the chemotherapy drugs vinca alkaloids
1951
The first cobalt bomb in the world is used to deliver radiation therapy to cancer patients at Victoria Hospital
1948
The first artificial kidney machine in Canada is developed at Victoria Hospital
Physicians at Victoria Hospital are the first in the world to recognize sexual dimorphism in human cells, leading to new knowledge of the relationship between sex chromosome abnormalities and human disease
Note: LRCC, London Regional Cancer Centre, integrated with London Health Sciences Centre in January 2004 and became the London Regional Cancer Program
