The Ewha Womans University Medical Center (EUMC) has strived to stay competitive by constantly pursuing innovation and specialization in this fast-changing medical environment. The epitome of such an effort is the Ewha Womans University Cancer Center for Women, which is dedicated to female patients suffering from breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, etc.
The Ewha Womans University Cancer Center for Women is comprised of the Breast & Thyroid Cancer Center and the Gynecologic Cancer Center, which specializes in treating gynecologic cancers (e.g. cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer) and benign tumors like uterine myoma and ovarian cystoma. Successful treatment of gynecologic cancers is determined by accurate diagnosis, skilled surgeons and thorough postoperative patient management. All of these three determinants of successful treatment are found at the Gynecologic Cancer Center as it is staffed with the best medical team that boasts ample experiences in both clinical research and surgery.
A fall in the average age of first sexual intercourse, delayed childbearing and advances in diagnostic tests have contributed to a rise in the incidence of uterine diseases, such as uterine myoma and endometriosis. As a result, more women who are planning to have a baby in the future end up undergoing surgery. In line with the recent trend, the Gynecologic Cancer Center employs varied treatment techniques, such as traditional laparotomy, various laparoscopic techniques (minimally invasive procedures) and cutting-edge robotic surgery, so as to successfully treat women in a stress-alleviating, side effect-free way that also does not hurt their chances of having a baby in the future.
To prevent common side effects like dysuresia after any surgery, the Gynecologic Cancer Center pays keen attention to nerve protection during surgery. The Gynecologic Cancer Center also carries out urodynamic testing to save its patients an extra trip to the department of urology for postoperative urodynamic testing. At other hospitals, patients generally have to come down to the department of urology to take the test.
Furthermore, the Gynecologic Cancer Center offers a free lecture called “Power up” to help ease patient’s physical pain as well as cheer up patients.
Female patients suffering from gynecological diseases tend to feel depressed and frustrated, so the center is running various programs to take care of patients’ mental health, too. There is a female patients’ club called ‘Nancho (orchid) Club,’ which regularly meets to encourage information sharing between medical staff and female patients.
The EUMC’s commitment to treating female cancers has paid off. A new branch of the EUMC is under construction in Magok District, Seoul, which will be completed in 2018. Thus, the EUMC is keen on developing its specialty in treating difficult-to-treat severe diseases. A case in point is Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital’s Organ Transplant Center.
The Organ Transplant Center takes care of operations and postoperative patient management related to all kinds of organ transplants by consolidating treatment processes that used to be separately initiated by different transplant centers such as kidney and liver transplant centers. The Organ Transplant Center has three teams dedicated to kidney transplants, liver transplants and heart and lung transplants, respectively. The kidney transplant team is led by Jeong Ku-yong, Head of the Organ Transplant Center while the liver transplant team is headed up by Prof. Lee Hyun-kuk and Prof. Hong Keun. The heart and lung transplant team is led by Prof. Won Tae-hee and Prof. Kim Kwan-chang.
Improving the short-term success rate of organ transplants through surgery and intensive pre and postoperative treatments is important, but long-term success rates should be increased by maintaining a healthy, transplant-ready wait list and carrying out postoperative immune response management and nutrition therapy. To that end, a consolidated organ transplant system should be established to pool expertise and resources that would otherwise be separately managed.
Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital’s Organ Transplant Center is staffed with transplant surgeons for specific organs, organ transplant coordinators and nurses to ensure successful organ transplants. On top of that, all the tricky administrative procedures, from getting on the organ transplant waiting list to organ donation, have been streamlined to offer systemic organ transplant programs to patients waiting for an organ transplant.
Since the Organ Transplant Center signed an agreement with the Korea Organ Donation Agency back in 2013, the Center has promoted organ donation and searched for presumably brain-dead patients to run an efficient system for organ donation by brain-dead patients. The Center plans to ramp up its efforts to find brain-dead patients who qualify as donors. Furthermore, it is planning to form organ transplant, brain death and ethics committees to pave the way for organ transplants and furnish patients waiting for an organ transplant with world-class medical care and services.
