South County Hospital expanded its surgical capabilities with the opening of a new operating room on Monday.

This brings the hospital’s total to seven operating rooms in the surgical suite. An additional OR is located in the Women and Newborn Care Unit specifically for obstetrical procedures.

The addition is part of an ongoing improvement plan that will better equip South County Health to expand its resources to improve patient care and make high quality medical services more accessible.

OR-7, as it is known among hospital staff, is the largest operating room of the seven. It was designed to accommodate South County Hospital’s da Vinci XI robotic surgery technology, including specialized overhead lighting that enhances the surgeons’ vision when using the robotic technology for less invasive surgical procedures.

Dr. Jordan Hebert, a surgeon trained in da Vinci technology, performed the first procedure in OR-7 on Monday morning, a hernia repair that was the first of its kind at South County Hospital.

“The constellation of technology outfitted to this OR proved immensely valuable on day one. With this technology, my team and I were able to perform the first robotic eTEP abdominal wall reconstruction procedure at South County Hospital,” Dr. Hebert said.

“This minimally invasive operation provides patients with complex hernias the highest quality repair with quicker recovery, less pain, shorter hospitalization, decreased risk of complications, and superior outcomes when compared to traditional large open incision techniques.”

To accommodate the new operating room, the endoscopy suite was relocated to designated space on the ground floor of the hospital.

In the coming weeks, South County Hospital is scheduled to open up its new endoscopy suite, an area that was relocated to allow for the surgical suite expansion.