Telehealth surgery technology saves life in Rockhampton public hospital
But when he helped another remote colleague virtually "scrub in" to a surgery in Rockhampton, more than 600 kilometres away, that is exactly what happened.
"The patient had a significant bleed inside their skull, causing pressure on their brain," Dr Lamparelli said.
The deputy director of surgery at Rockhampton Hospital, in central Queensland, had spent three years campaigning for the new specialised piece of telehealth equipment, which allowed the surgery to go ahead.
The Teladoc system, which has rolled out in the Rockhampton, Gladstone and Emerald hospitals, allows specialists to dial in virtually to a surgery, see close up what is happening via multiple camera angles and provide advice to colleagues.
It is the first time the equipment has been used in an Australian public hospital.
Dr Lamparelli said last month, when he was away in Brisbane, other Rockhampton colleagues were unavailable for the complex emergency surgery.
On his phone from the party, he connected Brisbane neurosurgeon Craig Winter into the live surgery to assist the general surgeon on call in Rockhampton, who had never performed that particular operation before.
"What I was able to do was push those images from my phone to the neurosurgeon, and he was able to supervise that case … talking to her [the on-ground surgeon] through the whole procedure," Dr Lamparelli said.
Dr Lamparelli said the procedure took about an hour, then the patient was stabilised and taken to Brisbane — a transfer which took about five hours.
The patient is now back in the Rockhampton hospital, recovering well in the rehabilitation centre.
Rockhampton Hospital director of surgery Chris Lewis said he was hopeful the new technology could change the landscape of regional healthcare.
"Especially in trauma and severe injury, a lot of our patients come from cattle stations in the middle of nowhere, and time is of the essence.
"You actually need the help there and then, and you can't stop the operation and come back at a later date."
Dr Lamparelli campaigned for three years to get the technology in local hospitals and said it was thanks to fundraising through not-for-profit organisation CQ Shines Hospital Foundation and the Gladstone Ports Corporation that the machines could be purchased.
"If we can prove that it's worthwhile, we would hope that other hospitals would get this," he said.
Rockhampton Hospital telehealth coordinator and clinical nurse consultant, Christina McInally, said any specialist in the world could be dialled in to the secure network, so she was hopeful it would also help to retain staff.
"It's also showing that our staff are great at their job and can do absolutely amazing things when we just have a little bit of extra support," she said.
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