Microsurgical Training Has a New Look at the Buxton Microsurgical Education Center

As one of the country’s leading training sites for a new generation of ophthalmic and ENT surgeons, the Jorge N. Buxton, MD, and Douglas F. Buxton, MD, Microsurgical Education Center is no stranger to advanced technology. In 2006, for example, it installed a virtual reality EyeSi Surgical Simulator to sharpen the intricate microsurgical skills trainees will soon bring to the operating room. Extensive audiovisual improvements soon followed.

The latest upgrade further elevates the educational experience for students and instructors alike. Ten of 16 training stations within the wet lab environment have been outfitted with ZEISS EXTARO 300 microscopes, each equipped with a high-resolution video camera so that faculty can view on a screen practice sessions in real time, or later on from a remote monitor.

“These high-definition microscopes will make training much more realistic for our residents and fellows through exquisite visualization and depth perception,” says Douglas F. Buxton, MD, Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and son of Jorge N. Buxton, MD, the first chief of cornea service at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) and a champion of modern microsurgery. “In addition, cameras attached to each microscope will allow for co-observation by instructors and trainees in a way that promotes on-the-spot interaction and discussion.”

The replacement of older microscopes with the latest models is consistent with the core mission of NYEE. “The upgrade demonstrates our commitment to not just maintaining but enhancing our educational programs and the investment we continue to make in the future of our residents and fellows,” says Paul Sidoti, MD, Deputy Chair for Education, Department of Ophthalmology, Icahn Mount Sinai. “Having a microsurgical training lab with a robust simulation program is also vital to our ability to attract top candidates from across the country who look for such a capability.”

Some 47 ophthalmic residents and fellows and 30 ear, nose, and throat trainees will benefit each year from the enhanced training. In fact, the Department of Otolaryngology at Icahn Mount Sinai is financing half the cost of the lab upgrade, with the remainder being split between the Buxton Microsurgical Education Center and the Mount Sinai Department of Ophthalmology. Furthermore, the improvements were championed by both James C. Tsai, MD, MBA, President of NYEE, and Eric M. Genden, MD, FACS, the Isidore Friesner Professor and Chair of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Icahn Mount Sinai.

“By significantly increasing the power of illumination and magnification, the new microscopes will provide students with better and crisper images of small and fine details of structures, especially of the ear and eye,” says George Wanna, MD, Professor and Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. “This is a huge advantage when learning general otolaryngologic procedures such as tympanoplasty, myringotomy, mastoidectomy, stapedectomy, ossicular chain reconstruction, and cochlear implants.”

The training of otolaryngologists has been an important part of NYEE’s rich history since 1864. In 1958, the Temporal Bone Laboratory was established, the first of its kind on the East Coast, to instruct physicians on performing delicate surgery on the inner ear and around the facial nerves. The Laboratory became the Jorge N. Buxton, MD, Microsurgical Education Center upon its opening in September 2004.

For Dr. Buxton, the latest lab improvement is a natural fit for the Buxton Microsurgical Education Center Foundation, which he created 15 years ago. “We’re trying to create a microsurgical educational environment that is second to none,” he declares. “And by allowing residents to imitate as closely as possible the real OR surgical environment, these new enhancements are true to our mission.”