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Surgery

Surgery has made some huge leaps forward in recent years. Thanks to technological advances like laparoscopy, computer guidance, interventional radiology, and robotic surgery, procedures that used to require open surgery can now be performed minimally invasively. Of course, many procedures still require open surgery. Our surgeons excel at all the surgical techniques, but they operate minimally invasively whenever they can. Minimally invasive surgery has considerable advantages over open surgery, such as:

  • Reduced use of general anesthesia
  • Smaller incisions and scars
  • Less bleeding
  • Reduced pain after surgery
  • Many procedures no longer require an overnight hospital stay

Our Operating Rooms

As surgery becomes more specialized, different procedures may require specific tools and technologies. Our surgical facilities include:

  • Community Memorial Hospital – Ventura
    • 10 state-of-the-art surgical suites including dedicated robotic surgery rooms, an open heart/lung room, and a spine and brain room
    • 5 same-day surgery suites in our outpatient Same Day Surgery Center
    • Cath Labs equipped with the latest technology for catheter based, minimally invasive procedures
  • Community Memorial Hospital – Ojai
    • 2 surgical suites

    • 1 ROSA Total Joint Robot

Our Surgical Teams

We have excellent general surgeons, as well as experts in a broad range of surgical specialties. All of our surgeons are highly specialized, board certified, and fellowship-trained. Our team includes CNOR-certified nurses in pre-operative, operative, and pos-operative care. Our recovery areas are staffed with a seasoned post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) team.

Types of Surgery

  • Open Surgery: This is the traditional type of invasive surgery, which involves cutting into the skin and organs for a full view of the surgical field.
  • Laparoscopic Surgery: This type of surgery is performed with the help of a laparoscope, a thin rod with a light and camera attached to it, allowing surgeons to operate through several small “key hole” incisions.
  • Robotic-assisted Surgery: In robotic-assisted surgery, the surgeon makes the initial small incisions manually and then operates from behind a computer console, using tiny instruments placed inside the body. As early adopters of robotic-assisted surgery, we have special expertise in the field. We have invested in three types of specialized, leading-edge robots:
  • Catheter-based Surgery: Performed in a specially equipped Cath Lab, this type of procedure involves making a small cut in a blood vessel. Using guided imagery, the surgeon threads a thin, flexible tube (catheter) up to the heart or to a vein or artery. A device or tiny tools are then threaded up the surgical area to do the procedure.

Types of Anesthesia

We have excellent anesthesiologists, including several with subspecialties in pediatric anesthesia and cardiothoracic surgery.

  • General Anesthesia: General anesthesia causes you to lose consciousness. It is used for major operations that can take a long time, result in significant loss of blood, and/or affect your breathing.
  • IV/Monitored Sedation: Sometimes called “twilight sleep”, this type of anesthesia is often used for minimally invasive procedures like colonoscopies. It is used when an injection of local anesthetic won’t be enough but deeper general anesthesia isn't needed.
  • Regional Anesthesia: In regional anesthesia, anesthetic is injected close to a nerve or the spinal cord to numb a select part of the body. Regional anesthesia allows you to stay awake and aware and is often used during childbirth.
  • Local Anesthesia: Local anesthesia is for minor procedures that only require an injection to numb a small area, such as getting stitches or having a mole removed.