Surgeons and operating room staff at Centre Grey Hospital in Markdale are delighted with a new $33,000 arthroscopy system, purchased for the hospital through the generosity of donors to the Centre Grey Health Services Foundation’s “Light For Life” Christmas appeal, and the efforts of individual members at Beaver Valley Ski Club.
Arthroscopy is used by doctors to diagnose and repair problems inside the shoulder, knee, elbow, and ankle joints. The new system brings the hospital the latest technology in the field, reports Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. John McCall who runs a clinic at the hospital and frequently uses the new equipment. His involvement with arthroscopy goes back to its earliest days, and he’s delighted with the new system.
“I have been carrying out arthroscopic surgery in one form or another since the introduction of the arthroscope to North America in 1972,” he said in a letter to the Foundation. “The original arthroscope that we used in Toronto in the early seventies had a little electric light bulb at the end with a small round circle. We had no instruments to operate with this device. The modern arthroscopic equipment which you have kindly purchased for the hospital, consists of a multi-chip video camera with a sleek fiber-optic arthroscope and a flat plate digital TV screen with the ability to photograph off the screen.”
The new equipment allows patients to continue to have “close to home” access to a program more commonly found in larger hospitals. In addition to Dr. McCall, surgeons Dr. Jan Henning and Dr. Esam Haider also use the new system. Dr. McCall reports that Centre Grey Hospital “is probably the only Hospital of its size in the country where three Orthopedic Surgeons regularly visit and perform high tech arthroscopic surgery on a regular basis.”
The arthroscopy system is one of several pieces of new equipment purchased each year at Centre Grey Hospital made possible by funds donated by local residents and seasonal visitors through the Foundation.
The Light For Life campaign, the Foundation’s Silent Auction, Golf Tournament and Scenic Run all contribute towards those funds. And this year’s activities also received a welcome boost through the efforts of several members of the Beaver Valley Ski Club, who raised funds targeted specifically towards the arthroscopy system.
If you would like to contribute towards the arthroscopy system or other needed equipment, or learn about upcoming fund-raising events, please call the Foundation office at 986-3040 (ext. 6178) or visit our web site at www.cghsfoundation.com