Augusto has visited Humber River Hospital three times a week for his dialysis treatment for the past five years.

“He has such a strong fight for life,” says Patty Quinan, left, with Dr. Kerry Graybiel (Division Head, Vascular Surgery), Augusto, and Dr. Luis Figueroa (Vascular Surgeon)

“He has such a strong fight for life,” says Patty Quinan, a Vascular Access Coordinator who has been involved in Augusto’s care since the beginning, “He is so nice, so grateful. Every time I see him he is appreciative of the help he receives here at Humber.”

In December, Augusto was already at the Hospital when he started experiencing chest pains. Nephrologist Dr. Andreas Pierratos called Dr. Luis Figueroa, one of Humber’s vascular surgeons, who immediately ordered an X-Ray and CT scan for Augusto.

“We could see that he had a ruptured aorta,” Dr. Figueroa told us. The team had only minutes to act. In fact, if Augusto had not already been at the Hospital that day, he would have died.

Dr. Figueroa arrived at his bedside and learned that Augusto didn’t speak any English. Luckily, both men spoke Spanish, and Dr. Figueroa was able to explain what was happening, and that they would have to operate right away. Augusto was not strong enough to have survived open surgery, but was a candidate for an innovative endovascular procedure that would allow Dr. Figueroa to repair the rupture without open surgery.

Augusto looked at Dr. Figueroa and said to him in Spanish, “I’m not ready to die. Please do anything to save my life.”

Endovascular Surgeons repair blood vessels through a pin-point incision, guided by powerful imaging technology

Within minutes he was in surgery. The team performed an endovascular aortic repair, a minimally invasive procedure that allows surgeons to work through a pin-point incision, guided by powerful imaging technology.

Dr. Figueroa told us, “This story would not have been possible without my incredible team including an anaesthesiologist, my vascular surgery colleague Dr. Graybiel, and a dedicated team of vascular nurses who have specific training in this new procedure.”

Because of our donors, Augusto was in the best possible hands at the right time to save his life. With your continued support, we can save more lives together.

The Humber Difference: Vascular Surgery

Our donors have helped to enable our staff to provide the very best in patient care, serving thousands of people in our community.  You have saved lives. Humber has been open for over two years now, here’s how our Vascular Surgery Program is excelling with your help:

• Most Vascular surgeries at Humber are performed in one of our five Interventional Radiology (IR) Suites – a cross between an operating room and medical imaging suite, so surgeons can see, diagnose and operate all in one room, all at one time.
• The hybrid rooms are sterile, and always surgery-ready, so surgeons can use the room for imaging and then operate on the spot if need be, without having to book a separate OR.
• Over 5,000 exams and procedures are performed in our IR suites across vascular surgery, radiology and cardiology in a year. Humber is one of the few hospitals in Ontario whose interventional radiology area is shared by three different departments.
  

  Most Vascular surgeries at Humber are performed in one of our five Interventional Radiology (IR) Suites – a cross between an operating room and medical imaging suite, so surgeons can see, diagnose and operate all in one room, all at one time.

• 447 inpatient and outpatient procedures are performed in our dedicated Vascular Surgery suite, one of a small handful that exists in the province. Most vascular centers perform their cases in the OR, but by having a dedicated suite at Humber we can free up our OR’s for other cases and see more patients.
• Humber has 3 Discovery IGS imagers, a powerful imaging system that helps doctors use minimally invasive techniques to treat heart and blood vessel problems. When we opened in 2015, we were the first hospital in the GTA to have more than one, helping to pave the way for excellence and leadership in this specialty.

Our achievements have been many, but our need is still great.  We need your help to stay ahead of a changing world. This is your hospital and the Humber River Hospital Foundation relies on your generous donations to support our growing community. After all, reinventing patient care is as much about the next innovation as it is about the current one.