Three Kingston Health Sciences Centre physicians have been given two 2024 Elaine and Michael Davies Award for Innovation, receiving $25,000 for each award to advance groundbreaking medical practices to improve patient outcomes and health-care efficiency.
Dr. Tom Skinner, a KHSC urologist and transplant surgeon, has developed a cooling device to protect kidneys during transplantation. The device, a cooling jacket, maintains the kidney’s temperature below 5 C during surgery, preventing damage caused by warming.
“Every additional minute that a kidney warms can have lasting effects on its function,” Skinner said. “This device eliminates the rush, letting us focus on perfecting the technical aspects of the transplant without compromising the organ.”
The cooling jacket, now in its final stages of regulatory approval, is poised to enter clinical trials. It promises fewer cases of delayed kidney function, shorter hospital stays and improved long-term graft survival rates.
Meanwhile, respirologist Dr. Sebastián Rodríguez-Llamazares and thoracic surgeon Dr. Andrew Giles are introducing outpatient medical pleuroscopy at KHSC to address malignant pleural effusions (MPE), a condition affecting 20 per cent of cancer patients. The minimally invasive procedure combines diagnosis and treatment in a single visit, reducing the need for operating room time and hospital stays.
“Our goal is to reduce delays, improve comfort, and provide timely care in an outpatient setting,” Rodríguez-Llamazares said.
The Elaine and Michael Davies Award for Innovation, funded by an endowment established in 1989, supports hospital-based innovations at KHSC and Providence Care.