Selected Podcast
Center of Excellence - Minimally Invasive Gynecology Surgery
Dr. Justin Lee discusses minimally invasive gynecology surgery.
Featured Speaker:
Justin Lee, MD
Dr. Lee has an extensive background in Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Lee completed his undergraduate degree in Molecular Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley and completed his medical doctor degree at St. George’s University, School of Medicine in the field of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. Transcription:
Center of Excellence - Minimally Invasive Gynecology Surgery
Caitlin Whyte (Host): We are honored to announce that Mercy recently received a center of excellence designation for minimally invasive gynecology surgery. Today we’re going to hear more about this designation and what it means with Dr. Justin Lee, a urogynecology and pelvic restrictive surgery surgeon. So Dr. Lee to start off tell us a bit about your specialty.
Justin Lee, MD (Guest): As a urogynecologist, I perform advanced pelvic organ prolapse surgery including female urinary incontinence. The term urogynecology was back 30 or 40 years ago in regard to gynecologists that specialize in very particular surgery for prolapse and urinary incontinence. The urogynecology field has been recently granted the certification for what we call female pelvic medicines and reconstructive surgery.
Host: Now what is minimally invasive surgery when it comes to gynecology procedures?
Dr. Lee: Well Caitlin as you know the advancement in computer technology and laparoscopic instruments have allowed us to offer minimally invasive approach with small incisions which is about one centimeter or one-third of an inch instead of traditional large abdominal incisions to serve broader range of patients in the field of gynecology surgery. Small incisions means faster recovery times, reduced pain, and scarring. As of today, many procedures can be successfully done by minimally invasive approach in most patients, especially gynecology including hysterectomy which is removal of the uterus, ovariectomy which is removal of the ovaries. Myomectomy is the removal of the benign fiber in the uterus. Even ectopic pregnancy and some treatment for endometriosis and pelvic pain. Particularly for urogynecology and pelvis reconstructive surgery such as sacrocolpopexy. This is the term that I used to ask my son if he really wanted to join the spelling bee combination. If he spell it out the term sacrocolpopexy which is a treatment for prolapse of the vagina and other prolapse of the conditions like cystocele, you know the bladder drop, or rectocele where the protrusions of the rectum towards the vaginal opening. Some of the minimal invasive surgeries also involve gynecology oncology, a treatment for gynecologic cancer in the patients, and reproductive and gynecology. So that’s what it means by minimally invasive surgery.
Host: So let’s talk about this center of excellence designation. Why is this important to your specialty?
Dr. Lee: Well Caitlin if you look at the concept for center of excellence, way back in the 1960 at the time it’s generally described as a facility or a hospital or an organization which has value that is above the of norm of the specialty of interest. Center of excellence refer to a particular specialty that works in cooperation with the highest standard of practice into their entire scope of operations. Especially for the center of excellence in gynecology, it’s a commitment to provide excellence in patient’s experience, the outcome, and post-optic care which is the care after surgery. In order to adhere to this commitment, center of excellence and gynecology has to incorporate three major factors. It’s listed here. One is surgeons of excellence. Are they among the best in the specialty of their field? Center of excellence teams also need to demonstrate the safety and efficiency and the best clinical practice. This is center of excellence teams need to provide a protocol and pathway for certain procedure along with the standard of care in according of each patient from the point of care at that time when they present to the doctor office to the procedure to the discharge from the hospital, plus hospital visit and best outcome.
Host: So what does this designation mean for the greater Bakersfield community?
Dr. Lee: Good question. Mercy recently received the center of excellence and destinations from SRC. SRC actually stands for Surgical Review Corporations. It is an independent third part assessment. What they do is they evaluate and review diligently to all the aspects of their requirements for certain destinations. This is very important, as you know, because it’s recognized the achievement of the physicians, the nurses, and other members of the healthcare teams especially at the administrations and director of operations and OR director and nursing director within the minimally invasive surgery who work together to maintain the highest standard of care leading to better patient’s outcome. Especially for the Bakersfield community, it means that now we actually have the center of excellence recognized nationally internationally for as best care in minimally invasive surgery at Mercy Hospital in downtown.
Host: Great Dr. Lee. Is there anything else you want to add to our conversation here?
Dr. Lee: I'm very happy and very proud of this achievement along with other surgeons who devoted their times and delegate their time and their expertise and develop into this video of center of excellence for the community here at Bakersfield. Of course, I have to shout out to the CEO, the admin team who support us tremendously in the past years and bring us to the best that we can be.
Host: Absolutely. Well congratulations and thank you so much for joining us today.
Dr. Lee: Well thank you so much Caitlin.
Host: To learn more about urogynecology and pelvic reconstruction, head to dignityhealth.org/Bakersfield/womens-center. That’s dignityhealth.org/Bakersfield/womens-center. Find ore interesting and informative podcasts in our podcast’s library and be sure to share them with all your loved ones. This has been Hello Healthy, a Dignity Health podcast. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Stay well.
Center of Excellence - Minimally Invasive Gynecology Surgery
Caitlin Whyte (Host): We are honored to announce that Mercy recently received a center of excellence designation for minimally invasive gynecology surgery. Today we’re going to hear more about this designation and what it means with Dr. Justin Lee, a urogynecology and pelvic restrictive surgery surgeon. So Dr. Lee to start off tell us a bit about your specialty.
Justin Lee, MD (Guest): As a urogynecologist, I perform advanced pelvic organ prolapse surgery including female urinary incontinence. The term urogynecology was back 30 or 40 years ago in regard to gynecologists that specialize in very particular surgery for prolapse and urinary incontinence. The urogynecology field has been recently granted the certification for what we call female pelvic medicines and reconstructive surgery.
Host: Now what is minimally invasive surgery when it comes to gynecology procedures?
Dr. Lee: Well Caitlin as you know the advancement in computer technology and laparoscopic instruments have allowed us to offer minimally invasive approach with small incisions which is about one centimeter or one-third of an inch instead of traditional large abdominal incisions to serve broader range of patients in the field of gynecology surgery. Small incisions means faster recovery times, reduced pain, and scarring. As of today, many procedures can be successfully done by minimally invasive approach in most patients, especially gynecology including hysterectomy which is removal of the uterus, ovariectomy which is removal of the ovaries. Myomectomy is the removal of the benign fiber in the uterus. Even ectopic pregnancy and some treatment for endometriosis and pelvic pain. Particularly for urogynecology and pelvis reconstructive surgery such as sacrocolpopexy. This is the term that I used to ask my son if he really wanted to join the spelling bee combination. If he spell it out the term sacrocolpopexy which is a treatment for prolapse of the vagina and other prolapse of the conditions like cystocele, you know the bladder drop, or rectocele where the protrusions of the rectum towards the vaginal opening. Some of the minimal invasive surgeries also involve gynecology oncology, a treatment for gynecologic cancer in the patients, and reproductive and gynecology. So that’s what it means by minimally invasive surgery.
Host: So let’s talk about this center of excellence designation. Why is this important to your specialty?
Dr. Lee: Well Caitlin if you look at the concept for center of excellence, way back in the 1960 at the time it’s generally described as a facility or a hospital or an organization which has value that is above the of norm of the specialty of interest. Center of excellence refer to a particular specialty that works in cooperation with the highest standard of practice into their entire scope of operations. Especially for the center of excellence in gynecology, it’s a commitment to provide excellence in patient’s experience, the outcome, and post-optic care which is the care after surgery. In order to adhere to this commitment, center of excellence and gynecology has to incorporate three major factors. It’s listed here. One is surgeons of excellence. Are they among the best in the specialty of their field? Center of excellence teams also need to demonstrate the safety and efficiency and the best clinical practice. This is center of excellence teams need to provide a protocol and pathway for certain procedure along with the standard of care in according of each patient from the point of care at that time when they present to the doctor office to the procedure to the discharge from the hospital, plus hospital visit and best outcome.
Host: So what does this designation mean for the greater Bakersfield community?
Dr. Lee: Good question. Mercy recently received the center of excellence and destinations from SRC. SRC actually stands for Surgical Review Corporations. It is an independent third part assessment. What they do is they evaluate and review diligently to all the aspects of their requirements for certain destinations. This is very important, as you know, because it’s recognized the achievement of the physicians, the nurses, and other members of the healthcare teams especially at the administrations and director of operations and OR director and nursing director within the minimally invasive surgery who work together to maintain the highest standard of care leading to better patient’s outcome. Especially for the Bakersfield community, it means that now we actually have the center of excellence recognized nationally internationally for as best care in minimally invasive surgery at Mercy Hospital in downtown.
Host: Great Dr. Lee. Is there anything else you want to add to our conversation here?
Dr. Lee: I'm very happy and very proud of this achievement along with other surgeons who devoted their times and delegate their time and their expertise and develop into this video of center of excellence for the community here at Bakersfield. Of course, I have to shout out to the CEO, the admin team who support us tremendously in the past years and bring us to the best that we can be.
Host: Absolutely. Well congratulations and thank you so much for joining us today.
Dr. Lee: Well thank you so much Caitlin.
Host: To learn more about urogynecology and pelvic reconstruction, head to dignityhealth.org/Bakersfield/womens-center. That’s dignityhealth.org/Bakersfield/womens-center. Find ore interesting and informative podcasts in our podcast’s library and be sure to share them with all your loved ones. This has been Hello Healthy, a Dignity Health podcast. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Stay well.