Betsy Toole St. Luke's University Health Network
Healthw19
by Maria Canfield
What’s a hernia? Most simply put, a hernia is when an organ or its tissue moves away from its normal position (see “Hernia Fast Facts” for more detailed information). They are incredibly common, especially in men; their lifetime risk of developing a hernia is about 25 percent. In the United States, over 700,000 hernias are surgically repaired each year.
Hernias are also among the oldest recorded afflictions of mankind. The first known description of a hernia dates back to about 1550 BC in Egypt’s “Ebers Papyrus,” the most extensive and best-preserved document of ancient Egyptian medical practices. (The Ebers Papyrus also contains—among other things—3,500-year-old thinking on intestinal disease, bone-setting, parasites, eye and skin problems, dentistry, and the surgical treatment of tumors.)
In very good healthcare news, we have a stellar (and thoroughly modern) hernia resource right here in Bucks County. St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital, part of the St. Luke’s University Health Network, was accredited in 2016 as a Center of Excellence in Hernia Surgery™ by the Surgical Review Corporation, an organization devoted to recognizing outstanding surgical health care facilities and surgeons worldwide. This Center of Excellence has recently moved from the Quakertown campus to St. Luke’s newest campus, located in Milford Township.
Emanuel Nogueira, MD, St. Luke’s chief of surgery and the director of the Hernia Center of Excellence, is the first and only surgeon in Pennsylvania to be named as a Hernia Surgeon of Excellence by the Surgical Review Corporation. He and his team of surgeons, nurses, and patient educators diagnose and treat all types of hernias, from simple to extremely complex.
Minimally-invasive (also called laparoscopic) surgery is used whenever possible, as it results in smaller scars, shorter hospital stays, and faster recovery. In this procedure, a surgeon uses a laparoscope—a thin tube with a tiny video camera at its tip—and small tools to fix a hernia. During hernia repairs and other kinds of laparoscopic surgery, the surgeon is guided by images projected on a television monitor.
Dr. Nogueira says, “Our team will continue to use our expertise to provide minimally invasive surgical techniques to restore quality of life for our patients as quickly as possible.” He says that minimally-invasive surgery—as opposed to traditional surgery—is an approach that can often be used even in hernias that are more complex due to their type, size or other factors, such as the person’s overall health and whether the hernia has recurred after prior surgery.
“The Center of Excellence distinction reinforces our fundamental belief that providing strong, team-oriented, quality care leads to great outcomes,” says Dennis Pfleiger, president of St. Luke’s Quakertown and Milford campuses. “Dr. Noguiera leads a high-performing team who have an impressive success rate, and we’re very proud to offer this level of care to our community.”
Dennis is also proud—and rightly so—that in 2019 St. Luke’s Quakertown Campus was named a 100 Top Hospital for the second time (one of only 20 in the Small Community Hospital category) by IBM Watson Health. It is one of the health industry’s most prestigious honors; unlike many other awards, it is based entirely on an independent, scientific review of objective data from government and other publicly available sources.
The vision for St. Luke’s newest campus in Milford Township began a dozen years ago, with the purchase of a 17-acre parcel of land. The actual construction took about two years. In addition to housing the Center of Excellence in Hernia Surgery, all surgical services and the Emergency Department have moved from Quakertown to the Milford campus.
The Upper Bucks (Milford Township) campus of St. Luke’s University Health Network is located at the corner of Route 663 and Portzer Road. The campus is a short drive from downtown Quakertown and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and easily accessible from major area roadways. With its 80-bed hospital, surgical center, and Emergency Department—all state-of-the-art—this newest campus offers comprehensive health care and advanced technology to area residents.
Maria Canfield is a local freelance writer and the co-founder of Your Words Your Story, a memoir and pet-tribute creation service.