Pacific Neuroscience Institute Opens State-Of-The-Art Surgical Skills Lab at John Wayne Cancer Institute

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Mar 03, 2020, 08:52 ET

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Neuroscience Institute, in collaboration with John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John's Health Center, is very pleased to announce the opening of its new Multidisciplinary Neuroanatomy and Surgical Skills Laboratory located at John Wayne Cancer Institute.

Under the direction of Dr. Garni Barkhoudarian, Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Neurosurgery, the lab will serve as a premier research and teaching facility with a mission that extends beyond brain surgery to encompass multidisciplinary specialties.

"There is always room to improve," says Dr. Barkhoudarian, expert neurosurgeon and co-director of the Pacific Pituitary Disorders Center. "I liken surgeons to athletes who are always trying to make themselves better. That's always our goal – to make the operations we do safer, with better outcomes, incurring less risk and fewer complications."

The 1000-square foot state-of-the-art neuroanatomy surgical skills lab consists of modular workstations designed to accommodate a diverse range of specialists to advance their skills by working with cadaver tissues and organs. The space allows multidisciplinary training across areas including brain, skull base, eye/orbit, ENT, cardiothoracic, robotic (urology, gastrointestinal and gynecology), orthopedic and spine. Lab manager, Josh Emerson, provides guidance with dissections as well as serving as PNI's medical illustrator and animator.

The lab goals are to educate clinical fellows, both nationally and internationally, advance surgical approaches, develop new surgical products, and provide advanced education to established surgeons worldwide through conferences and symposia.

Institute faculty, surgical oncology fellows, international surgeons and students can gain hands-on instruction in anatomy as well as training in minimally invasive "keyhole" surgical approaches. This type of experience helps surgeons learn novel approaches to surgery, including removing tumors from difficult-to-reach areas of the brain through the smallest possible openings with minimal disturbance to surrounding healthy tissue. Surgeons also have the opportunity to test surgical devices, gaining access to new technologies and instrumentation before taking them into the operating room.

"We're still learning new aspects of anatomy that weren't evident even 10 years ago," said Dr. Barkhoudarian. "Because of our advanced experience, we're working alongside industry improving devices to make surgery more efficient."

Such surgical skills labs are hard to find, Dr. Barkhoudarian noted. In Los Angeles, John Wayne Cancer Institute is one of a select few to have a multidisciplinary surgical skills lab. Technology for streaming high-definition video worldwide is also available, extending the Institute's educational reach.

"We want to educate people outside this facility," Dr. Barkhoudarian explained. "As a higher-level institution, we see there is definitely a benefit to teaching others these specialized surgical skills. We attract fellows and surgeons from all over the world who don't otherwise have access to the level of training we offer.

"We want to be a hub of learning, educating the future generations of surgeons."

The PNI/JWCI Multidisciplinary Neuroanatomy and Surgical Skills Laboratory is sponsored by Karl Storz Endoskope North America, Stryker Corporation, Mizuho Medical Company Ltd., Surgical West Inc. and Providence Saint John's Health Center. Generous funding is provided by Mr. and Mrs. J. Jeffrey Assaf, Mrs. Carol Lee Karlin, Peter Douglas of the Peter Douglas Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Scott Westervelt, Lisa and Steve Nesbitt, and Donna Schweers and Tom Geiser.

About Pacific Neuroscience Institute

Pacific Neuroscience Institute^® (PNI^SM) is devoted to the comprehensive care of patients with a wide spectrum of neurological and cranial disorders. Dedicated teams of specialists, state-of-the-art facilities and the use of leading-edge treatment along with our collaborative approach ensure that each patient receives the attention they require for successful treatment and recovery. PNI's specialty clinics are located at award winning hospitals Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica and Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, California. PacificNeuro.org

Media Contact:
Zara Jethani
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SOURCE Pacific Neuroscience Institute