Submitted by Mississippi Valley Surgery Center
The ability to move freely keeps us active and on the move. So, when joint pain or the loss of mobility slows us down, we search for a solution — which often includes considering surgery.
In years past, a surgery meant long hospital stays and recovery times as well as results that sometimes didn’t meet expectations.
The good news is there is a facility that focuses on innovative outpatient surgery — right here in the Quad Cities — that leads to a faster recovery and a better experience.
Mississippi Valley Surgery Center is an Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) designed specifically for outpatient surgeries and procedures.
The Center is accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). The accreditation certificate is a symbol that an organization is committed to providing high-quality health care and that it has demonstrated that commitment by measuring up to the Accreditation Association’s high standards.
A focus on innovation
Mississippi Valley Surgery Center changed health care in the Quad Cities when it launched their outpatient Total Joint Replacement Program ten years ago. Since then, surgeons have performed more than 1,300 total joint replacements at the Center.
It is the only center in Iowa that performs total joint replacements on all four major joints — shoulders, knees, hips, and ankles. It leads the state for the number of outpatient total joint replacements done each year.
“Our first joint replacement occurred in June, 2006. At that time, joint replacements in the outpatient setting was a new concept,” says Michael Patterson, President and CEO at Mississippi Valley Surgery Center. “Patients, as well as surgeons and staff, realize that, thanks to innovation and minimally invasive procedures, today joint replacements done in an Ambulatory Surgery Center speed recovery and improve the overall experience.”
As a regional leader in outpatient surgery, physicians from a variety of practices choose to perform their outpatient procedures at Mississippi Valley Surgery Center. Because the Center’s team specializes in outpatient surgeries and procedures, they are experts in the latest, proven techniques that lead to better outcomes.
Just ask Geneseo resident Randy Lindstrom. While handing a case of kitchen tiles to a colleague at Village Home Stores in Geneseo where he works, the package slipped. Randy tore his right rotator cuff.
The rotator cuff is a group of four tendons and muscles that converge around the shoulder joint at the top of the humerus, the upper arm bone above the elbow. Together, they form a “cuff” that holds the arm in place and allows it to move in different directions. While the shoulder is one of the most mobile joints, it’s also somewhat weak. A specific event — or sometimes daily wear — can cause tears and swelling in the tendons of the rotator cuff.
“After the accident, the pain was immediate and it was nearly impossible for me to move or lift my arm — let alone work,” said Randy. “It was even worse because I had damaged the shoulder before and already had one surgery.”
When Randy realized he was staring down his second rotator cuff surgery in eight years, he asked around to friends and family. They recommended Dr. John Hoffman with Orthopaedic Specialists in Davenport.
Dr. Hoffman has been in private practice for almost three decades and performs well over 500 total joint surgeries each year. As a frontrunner and national spokesperson in his field, Dr. Hoffman has been an integral part of developing the Surgery Center’s Total Joint Program since its inception in 2006.
To help Randy regain shoulder mobility, he performed an outpatient procedure for massive, irreparable rotator cuff tears called Superior Capsule Reconstruction. In fact, Randy was one of the first patients in Iowa to undergo the innovative procedure.
Mississippi Valley Surgery Center was the perfect setting for the procedure.
“The team at Mississippi Valley Surgery Center is recognized by surgery centers and health care associations across the country as a frontrunner”, says Dr. Hoffman. “I’ve been very pleased with the results of Randy’s procedure so far.”
Back to life, back to work
The experience with Dr. Hoffman and Mississippi Valley Surgery Center is one Randy feels good about.
“The folks at Mississippi Valley Surgery Center were outstanding. It was just great — and I’m not just saying that,” said Randy. “Everyone was very personable and always checking on me and my fiancé throughout our stay.”
Randy started physical therapy on his shoulder roughly one week after the surgery and has been doing very well.
“I’m not quite at 100 percent, but I am doing awesome,” he says. “I am able to do my job without any issues, so that’s great. I can’t thank Dr. Hoffman enough.”
To learn more about Dr. John Hoffman and the other surgeons at Orthopaedic Specialists, visit www.OSQuadCities.com.
To learn more about Mississippi Valley Surgery Center, go to www.mvhealth.net, and visit Facebook at facebook.com/MississippiValleySurgeryCenter.
Celebrating 20 Years of Innovation
The year was 1996. Email was just catching on, and DVDs were emerging on the market. Something just as innovative was happening in the Quad Cities — Mississippi Valley Surgery Center was opening its doors.
The Center’s creation was the vision of a small group of physicians who believed that offering affordable, convenient surgery with individualized attention that didn’t require an extended stay was the future of healthcare. Just a few of the procedures offered upon opening included vasectomies, knee scopes, laparoscopic gall bladder removal, breast biopsies, cataract removal, and tonsil/adenoid removal.
The Endoscopy Center
Within a few years, the Surgery Center was so successful they needed to open an Endoscopy Center dedicated to colonoscopy, esophageal endoscopy, and other gastrointestinal procedures. It was built on Utica Ridge Road in Davenport, conveniently located close to I-74 and other major roadways.
The Total Joint Replacement Program
An important benchmark was the launch of the Total Joint Replacement Program in 2006, which uses a minimally invasive approach to foster rapid recovery, and offers 23-hour total hip, knee, ankle, and shoulder replacements. Patients quickly realized that joint replacement in an ambulatory center meant recovering faster, fewer complications, and a better experience.
The innovation continues. In 2016, Dr. Tuvi Mendel with Orthopaedic Specialists performed the first total ankle replacement at the Center. Patients that experience ankle pain and decreased function from arthritis are good candidates for the surgery, which replaces damaged bone and cartilage in the ankle joint with joint replacement parts.
As the Surgery Center’s Total Joint success has grown, so has the number of surgeons who choose the facility. This year Dr. Ryan Pokorney with Orthopaedic Specialists began performing total joint revisions for the hip and knee at the Center. Dr. Pokorney is fellowship trained in adult reconstructive surgery. He uses his expertise to replace worn out or irregular joint replacements with new ones.
Minimally invasive spinal surgery
Mississippi Valley Surgery Center is where the area’s only surgeon performing outpatient spinal surgeries, Dr. Michael Dolphin with Orthopaedic Specialists, chooses to operate. In the last decade, over 1,000 outpatient spinal surgeries have been done at the Surgery Center.
One minimally invasive spine surgery performed by Dr. Dolphin is Anterior Cervical Discectomy with Fusion. Careful surgical technique allows for removal of bone spurs, relieving the nerve/spinal cord compression. Then stabilization of the disc space is performed in the form of a fusion.
Another outpatient spinal procedure he performs is a Microdiscectomy, which is designed to relieve pain from a disc bulge/herniation. The minimally invasive procedure removes the herniated part of the disc material that is pressing on the nerve or the spinal cord, retaining the unaffected disc for continued function. Dr. Dolphin performs these procedures with a small incision, allowing for quicker recovery.
It’s about the people
The caring experts at Mississippi Valley Surgery Center and Mississippi Valley Endoscopy Center assure a warm and welcoming experience that puts patients and their loved ones at ease from admittance to discharge.
Of course, it’s the caring experts who staff Mississippi Valley Surgery Center that make the difference.
Recent customer satisfaction surveys demonstrate the pride the team takes in offering the best experience possible. More than 97 percent of patients surveyed would recommend Mississippi Valley Surgery Center to their friends and family. In addition, 95 percent of patients gave them the highest possible patient satisfaction scores (9 or 10).