How cables save lives. The Klaus Faber Hybrid Operating Theatre

The Klaus Faber Hybrid Operating Theatre has been in operation for ten months now, with 500 people treated in that time already. Many patients could be spared a major operation thanks to the innovative technology and its minimally invasive procedure. The keyhole surgery method permits doctors to apply smaller incisions than with a regular operation, and thus reduce the injury to the skin and tissues, which has a positive effect on the healing process.

The management board of the Klaus Faber Foundation and members of the supervisory board, management board and staff of Klaus Faber AG thus followed the Caritas Clinic's invitation to visit the Klaus Faber Hybrid Operating Theatre with great enthusiasm – dressed appropriately in scrubs, of course.

"Patients can be operated upon much faster and more conveniently in the Klaus Faber Hybrid Operating Theatre. We are also able to treat difficult cases here", comments Dr. Ali Keivanjah, head physician of the clinic for vascular and endovascular surgery. "With the hybrid operating room, we finally have high-quality imaging available in our central operating theatre, which is a great help to us cardiologists when implanting electrically active implants (pacemakers and defibrillators)", adds Professor Michael Kindermann, head physician of the clinic for cardiology, angiology and pneumology.

The new hybrid operating room also significantly benefits the doctors themselves because the staff's exposure to radiation is markedly reduced by the new technology, and the modern equipment makes the surgeons' daily work easier. "Working in the new operating room is an unadulterated joy. It's a completely different ballgame. From a Lada to a Ferrari, so to speak", says Dr. Shalva Chkhetia, acting senior practitioner at the clinic for vascular and endovascular surgery.

The hybrid operating theatre is not only used by the vascular surgery and cardiology departments, with the first spinal surgery also successfully performed here recently.

Just three operating theatres can offer this standard so far in the Saarland. And it is to be expected that the demand for hybrid operating rooms will continue to grow in the future. Experts forecast that 80 percent of all operations will probably be minimally invasive in 10 years' time. Our donation not only enables better patient care, but also helps to safeguard jobs. The number of surgical procedures will increase from ca. 17,000 to around 19,000 operations thanks to the Klaus Faber Hybrid Operating Theatre.

The new hybrid operating room also adds to the Saarbrücken Caritas Clinic's attractiveness for patients and potential employees. "It has become easier for us to hire highly trained specialists", says Rafael Lunkenheimer, CEO of the Caritas sponsoring organization cts. Which is why foundation board member Dr. Andreas Schmitt's final question to those responsible, "Was this investment meaningful?", could only be answered with an unequivocal "yes", as is confirmed by Susanne Klein, Commercial Director of the Caritas Clinic Saarbrücken.

The funds that have been generated by our employees and flowed into this donation give people another and better lease on life. The Klaus Faber Foundation also intends to support projects in medical research and applied medicine with large donations in the future.