For over 45 years, the highly skilled surgeons at Texas Back Institute have earned the distinction of being “world-class” by medical colleagues and organizations around the globe. This professional admiration is based on TBI’s commitment to constant innovation in spinal surgery procedures and its state-of-the-art training program. Recently, that exemplary training program took another giant leap forward with the opening of its simulated surgery lab.
What This Means for You — From veteran physicians–with decades of experience in spine surgery–to younger physicians who are learning what it takes to be the best in a challenging profession, surgical skills training is a critical aspect of patient care. With this new simulated surgery lab at Texas Back, skills can be constantly honed, and meticulous attention to medical detail can be enhanced.
Better training means better patient care at Texas Back Institute. To make an appointment, just click here.
A Significant Advancement in Technology
According to Dr. Donna Ohnmeiss, the director of the Texas Back Institute Research Foundation, the new simulated surgery lab “is a huge advancement in technology.’’
She added, “Traditionally, this type of training was done in a cadaveric lab, and this presented a few challenges. The primary challenge is the variation of the cadavers that are available. With our new lab, the training specimens are consistent, and the quality is excellent. Plus, this lab is convenient. Our physicians can come and work on their own schedule. We no longer must order special specimens and keep them refrigerated until it’s time for training. With our new facility, these are essentially ‘store-on-the-shelf’ training tools, and this allows our physicians to work on their skills whenever they want.”
Aligning With the History of Texas Back Institute
The development of this simulated surgery lab is consistent with the storied history of Texas Back Institute. Dr. Ohnmeiss notes, “This lab aligned nicely with the history of Texas Back. Our practice has always been at the forefront of patient care, research, and education. With this in mind, we will also conduct research in this lab and provide hands-on training.
“This lab integrates seamlessly with our history and our repertoire. It is an honor to be the first designated training lab in the United States with this type of equipment. It allows our veteran surgeons, our fellows, and younger physicians to develop their skills.”
Exciting Training Technology Introduced
Dr. Richard Guyer, Texas Back Institute
As one of the founders of Texas Back Institute, Dr. Richard Guyer couldn’t be happier to see this state-of-the-art training lab come to fruition.
“I think this is incredibly exciting,” he said. “The Simulation Lab is something I have dreamed about for years. I’ve always appreciated how pilots are trained on simulators and there’s no reason we can’t train surgeons with the same technology. When we launched Texas Back, the technology was not available, but now it is.
“The flexibility of this lab is truly amazing. It is designed to allow us to change the modules to teach younger physicians and eventually teach more veteran surgeons new techniques without doing it in the operating room. This will enable surgeons to gain a better understanding of the flow of procedures and the instrumentation involved.”
Texas Back surgeon, Dr. Alexander Satin, added, “This lab is a culmination of years of hard work and thoughtful planning. It marks a new paradigm in surgeon and fellow education by offering hands-on, cadaveric-like training on demand. This will allow us to introduce new procedures, without the logistical challenges of a cadaver lab.
Dr. Alexander Satin, Texas Back Institute
“With this lab, we can address several key issues in the way we train fellows. For example, there are certain procedures that occur infrequently, so the physician in training may not be exposed to these surgeries as many times as we would prefer. This lab will ensure that every fellow is well-trained, competent, and safe to perform these procedures independently. This means we can teach our younger physicians and fellows without the risks to patient safety.
“This is only the tip of the iceberg of what we will be able to accomplish from an education and research perspective with this technology. The possibilities are endless,” he concluded.
To get a closer look at the Texas Back Institute surgical simulator lab, click here.