Hospital becomes sixth in nation to use new laser therapy

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Hospital becomes sixth in nation to use new laser therapy
President Jeremiah J. Hodshire, Dr. Eric Stockall, and Chief Quality, Information, and Technology Officer John Robertson announce new laser therapy. Courtesy | Hillsdale Hospital

Hillsdale Hospital is one of only six locations in the country to use a thulium laser to treat kidney, ureteral, and bladder stones.

Hillsdale Hospital and Dr. Stockall from Capital Urological Associates joined forces to bring new technology and the highest quality urological care to Hillsdale and its surrounding areas, according to Physician Liaison Darren Gronski.

Dr. James Howard defined how laser lithotripsy works in a hospital press release.

“Laser lithotripsy is a procedure to break apart kidney stones in the urinary tract,” Howard said. “It is done with a scope that can be passed into the tubes of the urinary tract, so incisions are not needed.”

The Thulium laser lithotripsy replaces the previously used Holmium laser, according to Dr. Eric Stockall.

“The Thulium laser is 2x faster, dusting kidney stones into very fine particles that are more easily washed out during the procedure,” Stockall said.

The results of the new technology include almost no loss of stability, less bleeding, along with shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery times, according to Stockall.

Rachel Lott, director of marketing and development at Hillsdale Hospital, said the introduction of the new technology has been exciting for the hospital.

“We pride ourselves on providing high-quality care to our patients and community,” Lott said in a press release. “To be the first in Michigan and one of the first in the nation to have this technology available in our hospital has been exciting for us, but even more so for our patients who have received this care.”

According to Gronski, Hillsdale Hospital has offered urology services since August 2019 through its partnership with Capital Urological Associates in response to the demands of an aging county.

“Kidney stones have doubled in the last 10 years,” Stockall said. “Hillsdale Hospital now has the ability to offer the most innovative and state-of-the-art urological services available.”

In addition, this new technology has attracted patients to Hillsdale Hospital from outside the county.

“We are seeing people travel to Hillsdale for this new technology,” Stockall said. “Our goal is to make Hillsdale Hospital a place that patients look to and seek out for the best available urology services.”

To account for the increased demand, two new urology providers, Dr. James Howard and nurse practitioner Cynthia Stuard have recently joined Stockall’s team and are now accepting patients.

Lott said the inclusion of specialty care services like urology has helped the hospital reach its goal to continue expanding local access to healthcare.

“Our partnership with Dr. Stockall and his team has allowed us to do that with great success,” Lott said. “To start with one provider and expand to three within a year tells us just how important this care is to patients in our community.”