Surgery

When a patient is scheduled for surgery, our surgeons, specialists and staff work closely with patients, family members and primary care teams to answer all questions. We discuss how to prepare for surgery, what to expect on the day of surgery and the best ways to make a timely recovery, which can include time in our inpatient physical rehab unit or with our outpatient rehabilitation services.

In addition to general surgery and the emergency procedures performed in our emergency room, Research Medical Center offers a wide range of surgical specialties.

We offer minimally invasive gastrointestinal care to diagnose and treat a variety of digestive conditions. This includes colonoscopies and capsule endoscopies.

Our Complex Hernia Center is a multidisciplinary program providing state-of-the-art care for all types of hernias. Our board-certified, fellowship-trained surgeons focus on a broad range of abdominal wall defects, ranging from inguinal hernias to those that may require complex abdominal wall reconstruction.

Our women's care program provides gynecologic surgery, such as fibroid removal and hysterectomies. We also offer surgical treatments for conditions that may contribute to a woman's fertility, such as endometriosis.

Research Medical Center offers vNOTES (vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery), an advanced minimally invasive gynecologic technique for hysterectomy procedures, as well as salpingectomy, oophorectomy, and cystectomy procedures. This technique provides patients with a shorter hospital stay, less postoperative pain, no visible scars and faster recovery time.

Our cardiology program offers advanced treatments for a wide range of cardiac and vascular conditions, such as heart arrhythmia and heart and vascular disease. The Structural Heart Center at Research Medical Center offers state-of-the-art treatments for people with heart disease related to structural abnormalities or damage. We provide a wide range of advanced heart and vascular procedures, including:

• Aortic aneurysm surgery
• Atrial septal defect/patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure
• Chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention (CTO PCI)
• Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC)
• Open-heart surgery
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
• Transcatheter mitral valve treatment, including:
  • Transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR)
  • Transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr)
  • Mitral valve balloon valvotomy
• Vascular surgery for carotid artery disease

At our hospital's HCA Midwest Health Neuroscience Institute, the diverse specialists in our neurological program work together to diagnose and treat conditions of the brain, spine and nerves. We also offer advanced treatments for brain aneurysms and cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), such as stroke.

Cranial stereotactic radiosurgery

One of the specialized treatments our neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists use is radiosurgery. We use cranial stereotactic radiosurgery to treat patients with benign and malignant brain tumors and other complex conditions. Radiosurgery is not intended to replace conventional neurosurgery in all instances. Treatment may supplement standard neurosurgical therapy or be recommended as the preferred course of treatment.

Our orthopedic program offers expert diagnoses and treatments for a wide range of bone and joint conditions, from fractures to degenerative disorders. We provide a variety of orthopedic surgeries, including arthroscopy and joint replacement surgery. We use advanced technology, robotic surgery and minimally invasive techniques whenever possible, which offers faster recoveries and reduced scarring.

The orthopedic specialists in our spine program offer advanced procedures to treat patients experiencing back and neck conditions. We offer minimally invasive options and strive to treat patients using the smallest incisions possible.

Our advanced spinal procedures include:

• Artificial disc surgery, including motion-preserving arthroplasty
• Microdiscectomy
• Percutaneous cordotomy
• Spinal cord and spinal nerve surgery
• Spinal decompression
• Spinal fusion
• Spinal reconstruction
• Spinal tumor and vascular abnormality removal

As part of HCA Midwest Health's network of hospitals, our cancer care program has access to new cancer treatments and clinical trials through the Sarah Cannon Research Institute. Our skilled surgical oncologists offer a range of procedures to treat various types of cancer.

We also offer cutting-edge radiation oncology treatments, such as gamma knife radiosurgery (the area's only treatment for brain tumors). Radiosurgery for metastatic brain tumors may be used in conjunction with other therapies, including conventional open skull surgery and whole brain radiation therapy, depending on the size, location and number of tumors.

The Transplant Institute at Research Medical Center offers a nationally-recognized kidney transplant program and the area's only simultaneous pancreas/kidney transplant procedure. Our dedicated transplant unit serves the entire region, including the Kansas City area, Joplin, Springfield, St. Joseph, Wichita and Topeka. We provide advanced transplant services, including live donor transplants.