36 | 2017 Medical & Dental Directory
GENERAL SURGERY
People have surgery
for a variety of reasons.
Sometimes it is to
diagnose a problem.
Other times it is to treat
a disease or disorder. In
many cases, the surgery
can save a life.
Under the Skin:
THE GROWTH OF SURGERIES AT CAPE FEAR VALLEY HEALTH
BY DONNIE BYERS
Cape Fear Valley Health performs more than 15,000 surgeries a year, both inpatient
and outpatient. That makes surgery one of the health system's busiest and most
important service lines.
As the flagship hospital, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center performs a majority of the
health system's inpatient surgeries. The number hovers around 4,500 annually.
Susan Dees, Corporate Director of Surgical Services, says the steady performance is
impressive, due to the recent economy and insurance industry changes.
"Most people are just putting off surgery," she said. "It's like that at hospitals
nationwide. We've been very fortunate we haven't seen a big dip."
What is more impressive is how the main hospital's general surgery volumes are
actually growing. Often considered a hospital's "bread and butter" service line, these
procedures focus on abdominal organs, such as the gastrointestinal tract, liver,
pancreas and gall bladder. They can also deal with the skin, soft tissue, trauma and
vascular surgery.
