By Cheryl Bruyninckx
USC Health Sciences Public Relations and Marketing

USC surgeons performed their first procedures in the newly refurbished, temporary home of the USC University Hospital Outpatient Surgery Center on Oct. 5. Most outpatient surgery cases previously performed inside the USC University Hospital operating rooms are now being scheduled in the first floor of the Doheny Eye Institute building. This space was used as an outpatient surgery center in the past and with the added equipment and updates to the interior, the facility is now welcoming patients again. “Improvements in the perioperative care of outpatients have allowed surgeons to perform an increasing array of surgical procedures on an ambulatory basis,” said Gligor Gucev, medical director of outpatient surgery. “With the recent advances in anesthetic and surgical practices, it has been possible to provide patient care that has the same or better outcomes than in-hospital treatment for specific patient population.”

Services provided in the Outpatient Surgery Center include ophthalmology, orthopaedics, ENT, plastic surgery, urology, gynecology, general surgery and pain management. With these outpatient procedures returning to the Outpatient Surgery Center, more time in the operating rooms at USC University Hospital is available to accommodate the USC Norris Cancer Hospital surgery patients moving to the Norris Inpatient Tower.

“The Outpatient Surgery Center allows us to accommodate the Norris surgery patients when they are relocated, but also create a more efficient system,” said Mitch Creem, CEO of the hospitals. “Outpatient procedures are typically shorter, so there is a much quicker turnaround time.”

The six operating rooms in Doheny have been recently renovated to house outpatient surgery while a permanent home for an expanded outpatient surgery center is built in the basement of the HCCII building. The outpatient surgery center in HCCII will consist of eight newly created operating rooms with all brand new, state-of-the-art equipment. A committee of USC physicians, staff and hospital administrators have been working with a team of architects for several months to put this plan together. They are looking forward to continuing the journey and are enthusiastic about the progress made thus far. “We are excited about the future of the Outpatient Surgery Center,” said Gucev. “With all of the latest technology available to us, we are able to offer new treatments as we continue providing world class care to our patients.”