Page 33 - Sharpening the Focus at UHN

PURPOSE, VALUES AND PRINCIPLES
CARING SAFELY
PATIENT EXPERIENCE
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PURPOSE, VALUES AND PRINCIPLES CLINICAL OPTIMIZATION
TEAM ENGAGEMENT
Dr. Runjan Chetty discusses his error of Rare surgery sees patient’s mechanical
distraction: ‘It was an awful feeling.’ cardiac pump removed after failing
CLINICAL OPTIMIZATION

IT TRANSFORMATION
heart recovers
It was a number of years ago, before Problem was, he left out the most important part of the
Dr. Runjan Chetty became Interim report – the diagnosis.
CARING SAFELY
Medical Director of the Laboratory And it wasn’t until several weeks later that Dr. Chetty Every moment of your life is a second some prior risk factors that led to this. As a result,
Medicine Program at UHN. He was realized his error. chance. Just ask Marcel Powell. Marcel underwent bypass surgery and subsequently
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
known for an open door policy in his The last thing the 27-year-old musician needed a mechanical cardiac assist device to maintain
office, so several colleagues came in seeking his input The “cliff-hanger” report revealed itself when a new remembers before fainting in the his heart function.”
PATIENT EXPERIENCE
on a lab initiative as Dr. Chetty was reviewing a patient’s case came in from the same patient. It was a different waiting room of the Hamilton General On May 28, 2015, cardiovascular surgeon Dr. William
pathology case. biopsy sample this time, and when Dr. Chetty looked Hospital in May of 2015 is being with his goddaughter Stansfield and a multidisciplinary team performed a
at the patient’s previous pathology report, signed out
“While we all think we can multi-task, we’re really not by him, he saw the abrupt conclusion – he left out the and his fiancée, Maria. He awoke five days later in a delicate operation to implant the mechanical heart on
MICHENER INTEGRATION
very good at it,” Dr. Chetty says now. “We can manage diagnosis. hospital bed at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (PMCC) Marcel’s left ventricle, the lower chamber of the heart
our time to do multiple things throughout a day, with a mechanical pump secured to his heart. that receives blood from the left atrium and pumps it
TEAM ENGAGEMENT
but doing even two things simultaneously leaves us “It was an awful feeling,” he says. “Realizing you made “Marcel came to us in a severely compromised state,” out under high pressure through the aorta to the body.
unnecessarily susceptible to errors.” a mistake that causes worry and uncertainty for a recalls Dr. Vivek Rao, Division Head, Cardiovascular The device uses a tiny, continuously-moving propeller
patient and their family is difficult to accept as a
That day, the conversation in his office eventually healthcare provider.” Surgery at the PMCC. “He was put on immediate life to help blood flow. The mechanical heart would support
required some mediation. Dr. Chetty weighed in support to maintain blood flow and oxygenation to his Marcel’s damaged heart until its function recovered or
IT TRANSFORMATION
and offered his opinion while finishing up the Link to full story: click here. body’s vital organs. until a matching donor heart could be found.
pathology report, sending the results to the patient’s “He had several blockages in his coronary arteries,
treating physician. which was unusual for a man of his age. There were Link to full story: click here.

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
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Dr. Furlan leads WHO case of CTE in patient with no
rehab guidelines known head trauma
Dr. Runjan Chetty, Interim Medical Director of UHN’s Laboratory Medicine
Program, speaks out about his “error of distraction” and emphasizes vigilance Marcel Powell, with his wife, Maria, on their wedding day, is only
even when performing the most routine clinical work. (Photo: UHN) the second Peter Munk Cardiac Centre patient to have undergone
explant surgery, which involved removing the mechanical heart he
was implanted with, after doctors determined that his own heart
function had recovered successfully. (Photo: Courtesy Marcel Powell)

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