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BETHLEHEM, PA – Thanks to generous donations, patients in the Lehigh Valley suffering from previously inoperable liver or pancreatic tumors now have a leading-edge treatment available to them at St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem.

Donors have contributed $125,000 toward the purchase of a NanoKnife, a device used in a minimally invasive procedure that targets and kills hard-to-reach tumors.

“The NanoKnife allows us to treat tumors that are in a problematic location, such as those located in proximity to major blood vessels or bile ducts that could be life-threatening if damaged,” explains Darius Desai, MD, Section Chief of Surgical Oncology for St. Luke’s University Health Network. “We now can destroy tumors in their place. Studies show that when you combine this surgical technology, along with chemotherapy, patient survival rates improve significantly.” 

Dr. Desai and Roderick Quiros, MD, a St. Luke’s Surgical Oncologist who will also use the NanoKnife to treat tumors in the liver and pancreas, received training in the use of the NanoKnife at the University of Louisville Hospital.

“I'm truly grateful to donors who are interested in helping us acquire the latest technology that allows us to provide the best treatment possible for our patients,” Dr. Desai says. “Patients no longer have to travel to large city hospitals to get treatments with the NanoKnife. It’s right here at St. Luke’s thanks to the generosity of individuals who want our hospital to remain on the leading edge of quality patient care.” 

Media Contact:

Sam Kennedy, Corporate Communications Director, 484-526-4134, samuel.kennedy@sluhn.org

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network providing services at seven hospitals and more than 270 outpatient sites in the greater Lehigh Valley. The network’s service area includes 10 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill, Bucks, Montgomery, Berks and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.  In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the region’s first and only regional medical school campus. Dedicated to advancing health education, St. Luke’s operates the nation’s oldest School of Nursing and 23 graduate medical educational programs and is considered a major teaching hospital – the only one in its region. Repeatedly, including 2017, St. Luke’s earned Truven’s 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital and 50 Top Cardiovascular Program designations, in addition to other honors for clinical excellence. St. Luke’s is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of St. Luke’s information technology applications such as electronic medical records, telehealth, online scheduling and pricing information. St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.