Walter Tower Brings Surgical Innovation to Houston Medical Center
Following four years of planning and construction, Walter Tower opened its doors to welcome patients on August 27, 2018 and is home to the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center as well as the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute.
At more than one million square feet, the building houses 366 new patient beds. Its 18 operating rooms include two neuro operating rooms, four cardiac operating rooms, and 14 heart catheterization labs, all equipped with the latest surgical and assistive technology. New CT machines are located conveniently next to post-op rooms, and there are three full floors dedicated to intensive care, all with private patient rooms plus six acute care floors with a brand-new VIP suite and a helipad on the roof above, making it a world-class destination for critical care.
Cutting-edge advances
Some of the exciting technologies that will be functioning in this environment include an intraoperative MRI, an innovation that allows surgeons to image a patient as they are undergoing brain surgery; a Gamma Knife, a non-invasive alternative to traditional brain surgery that delivers high doses of radiation with pinpoint accuracy and without harming healthy tissue; and the latest in robotic surgery.
Having access to this new technology, all in one place, is incredibly exciting, both for surgeons and patients. The center’s new hybrid ORs will support a new wave of minimally invasive cardiac and neuro-surgical procedures, helping patients recover more quickly and reducing much of the risk normally involved with these types of operations.
A patient-focused approach
Normally, patients would have to have diagnostic testing such as MRIs on an outpatient basis, but with the ability to image the patient during surgery, it will not only make procedures more expedient and efficient, but it will dramatically shorten time spent in the hospital and support a much better quality of life overall. Surgeons can look at results during the procedure and adjust as needed.
According to surgeons and medical personnel in the know, the building supplies patient-focused options that simply do not exist at any other facility or medical center anywhere in America.
DeBakey: Extending the legacy
For more than 50 years, Houston Methodist Hospital had built a storied history of surgical firsts. Under the direction of Dr. Michael DeBakey, some of the most important advances in heart surgery were pioneered under their roof. At the age of 97, DeBakey himself underwent an aortic dissection, a procedure that he himself developed. He continued to practice medicine up until his death in 2008 at the age of 99 and through the course of his life was awarded a long list of honors and awards for his contribution to cardiac medicine. It is only fitting that the new cardiac center should bear his name as it is extending the legacy of innovation and compassionate, patient-focused care that he built the foundations of more than 50 years ago.
Texas Medical Center Housing
On the opening of Walter Tower, Houston should be doubly proud. It will most certainly bring an influx of world-class surgical talent as well as patients who are seeking the best possible care they can get.
If you are moving to Houston or coming here to access care at the Texas Medical Center, Luxurway has affordable, quality accommodation that will help you and your family ease into life, work, and care in Houston. Browse our properties today or call us directly for discounted extended stay pricing.