Pierce scores big with Tufts-NEMC

Boston Celtics' shooting guard Paul Pierce has pledged $2.5 million to the Tufts hospital that saved his life.

Earlier this month, Pierce attended the unveiling of three new cutting-edge surgical suites in the Minimally Invasive Surgical Center at Tufts-New England Medical Center

Two and a half years ago, Pierce was treated at Tufts-NEMC for multiple knife wounds received at a Boston nightclub, "the worst of which came within an inch of his heart," according to Tufts-NEMC News. Doctors at the hospital, led by Assistant Professor Roger Graham, MD, were able to save Pierce's life using the techniques of minimally invasive, laproscopic surgery.

In what it refers to as Phase II, Tufts-NEMC plans to put the money donated by Pierce's foundation towards the development of four more technically advanced surgical suites and update its operating and laparoscopic surgery capabilities, according to Catherine Bromberg, a spokeswoman for Tufts-NEMC.

The new surgical suites are equipped with what officials said were the most up-to-date technologies in the surgical field. Tufts-NEMC surgeons will have greater control over the devices and instruments used in surgery and will be able to control equipment through a voice-activation system, leaving both hands free for operating.

Minimally invasive surgery minimizes scarring and lets patients recover more quickly than they could after conventional open surgery by using small instruments and an endoscope that films anatomy and displays it on monitors. Had it not been for the technology, the Celtics' captain would likely have spent the rest of the 2000 season recovering on the bench with a large scar.

"I experienced the benefits of this advanced surgery firsthand," Pierce said in a press release. "I was lucky enough to have been at this hospital in my time of need."

Minimally invasive surgery is not limited to treating victims of knife attacks. "This type of surgery has wide applications, it will benefit lots of people" Bromberg said. Doctors at Tufts-NEMC began learning how to do such surgery 13 years ago. Pierce's reasons for helping Tufts are sentimental. "He feels a very special connection to the hospital," said Carol Shackelford, a spokeswoman for the Celtics. Pierce said, "[I] want to make sure that other people in the same situation can get the care I received."

Pierce's doctors seem pleased with the results of the new surgical suites and the ability to advance minimally invasive surgery. In a Tufts-NEMC newsletter, Senior Surgeon Roger Graham, MD remarked that "the opening of the new operating suites will enable us to offer [the] kind of surgery that benefited Paul to more patients, giving them a shorter recovery time, while sparing them time out of work, school or the basketball court."