BARRIE - Barrie’s first general-surgery clinic, which opened in May, has just received its stamp of approval from the Canadian Association for the Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities.

The Lakeview Surgery Centre, located on Kempenfelt Drive, is a privately owned stand-alone facility operated by husband and wife team Dr. Emad Guirguis (a veteran surgeon) and registered nurse Joanne Guirguis.

“I think it’s a great step forward in taking the pressure off hospitals,” said local dermatologist Dr. Rod Kunynetz, who has already referred patients to Guirguis for skin-cancer surgeries. “This is a big boost for us because we’re able to have our patients access the much-needed procedures, such as cancer surgery, in a timely manner and in a safe environment.”

The renovated house that overlooks Kempenfelt Bay is wheelchair accessible and equipped with a consultation area, operating room, and four-bed recovery room.

“It took a lot of work to turn a home into a functional, equipped and accredited surgical centre,” said Guirguis, who is perhaps more well-known as a Barrie Colts team physician – a position he shares with Dr. Stewart Murdoch, director of the RVH Family Medicine Teaching Unit. “New lighting, ventilation and air-purification systems, a new elevator and numerous other changes (were done).”

Like a hospital, the new surgical centre provides OHIP-funded procedures like skin and thyroid cancer surgeries, hernia repairs, and carpal-tunnel decompressions, all which require referrals from family doctors. It is also set up to remove moles, cysts and lipomas, which may or may not be covered by the government insurance program.

“It will help alleviate the backlog at the Royal Victoria Hospital,” Guirguis said. “Patients can be referred by a family doctor to our centre or to a hospital-based surgeon, based on accessibility and availability of a surgeon.”

An RVH spokesperson said the hospital does not comment on private enterprises that are not affiliated with the hospital.

In order for a procedure to be done at a private surgical centre, an individual has to be otherwise healthy.

For elective surgeries, including those wanted for aesthetic purposes – like Botox shots, injectable fillers, gastric banding, UltraShape (a non-invasive alternative to liposuction) and cosmetic surgeries – patients can go directly to the centre for a consult after making an appointment by phone or via the website.

Leaving RVH after 17 years as a practising general surgeon, Guirguis said he opened the Kempenfelt Drive centre “to be able to serve the community without restrictions.”

He continues to have privileges at Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston.

A smaller organization is able to offer more flexibility in scheduling and other patient services, he explained.

Patient Jackie LeSarge recalls recovering from thyroid surgery when office administrator Lynne Campbell walked in the room with a telephone headset in hand and said, “your dad wants to talk to you.”

“My dad was thrilled – and my mom, who was also there, was too. What hospital does that?”
That said, there is a need for both types of facilities, Guirguis said.

“There are certain surgeries we just couldn’t provide here. For very ill patients, for example, or for those requiring very complex procedures.”

But for the rest, the Lakeview team is pleased to be able to offer an alternative.

“The result is exactly what we envisioned,” says the surgeon. “We give our patients a bright and inviting, yet professional setting. They’re calm, they’re comfortable.”