48X is already making a huge difference to patients

Matthew Williams was nervous. A retired Coast Guard officer, he had been in exemplary health most of his life. The only “major” surgery he’d ever had was a tonsillectomy as a child.

Then last year he and his wife noticed a bump on his neck. An evaluation revealed it as a large yet benign nodule in his thyroid gland. Although it wasn’t causing him any pain, at three inches long, the size of the nodule was noticeable and might lead to problems with swallowing or neck pressure.

Ultimately, it was up to Williams whether to shrink the nodule with radio frequency ablation (minimally invasive needle therapy) or remove it entirely through surgery.

“These are really common. We literally do hundreds of these per year,” endocrine surgeon Michael Campbell told Williams.

Campbell thinks his patient needed to hear that sense of confidence that comes from experience. Since 2013, he has helped sharpen and upskill UC Davis Health’s endocrine program to become one of the most specialized surgical destinations in the country. Not only was Williams in good surgical hands, he wouldn’t have to travel far from his home in El Dorado Hills.

He chose surgery.

The 48X effect

Now more than ever, UC Davis Health’s surgical subspecialties have resources to flourish. The new 48X Complex outpatient surgery center offers a patient-centered experience with parking across the street, a centralized reception and a calm, routine environment — purposely across campus from the main hospital trauma center.

“It’s like [UC Davis Health] constructed a totally different hospital designed to take care of patients who don't need to be in the hospital,” said Campbell.

In short, the types of routine surgeries performed at 48X make for a predictable, soothing environment, a well-oiled machine. And now surgical teams can do many more of them.

“I could not have had a better medical experience,” said Williams after the procedure, in November. “I appreciate how they approached their work, the professionalism they displayed and the empathy shown, which to a large degree alleviated most of my anxiety.”

Surgical momentum

In a dedicated outpatient surgical environment like 48X, care teams can explain what patients can expect, down to the minute. In Williams’s case, that meant arriving two hours early for evaluation, then an hour for surgery, followed by a six-hour observation period in the extended recovery unit (ERU). The environment is calm and monitored by advanced practice providers.

“48X allows highly trained surgeons and multidisciplinary teams to work together in an environment built for routine surgery, with the ability to extend recovery when patients need it,” said Robin Aldwinckle, Perioperative Operations Medical Director. “That combination of expertise, teamwork and the right setting is what truly elevates patient care.”