Manufacturers continually produce smaller, more advanced devices that require specialized training in implantation techniques. The University of Miami's Microsurgery Training Center is Dr. Balkany's brainchild. In a field of medicine marked by rapid advances, Balkany reasoned, many practicing surgeons receive little, if any, training in the latest surgical procedures. Even now, he says, surgeons in some remote areas around the world rely on books and videotapes to guide them on the new techniques. The center was designed to offer a convenient alternative for those physicians eager to keep abreast of the changes.
Most courses are two or three days in length.
Some are taught in Spanish. While the Microsurgery Training Center is one of about a dozen such facilities in the United States, Balkany says the University of Miami's center is focused on advanced procedures, including microsurgery to restore hearing, to remove tumors of the skull base, and to treat chronic ear infections, Meniere's disease, and other balance disorders. More than anything, I think this is what sets us apart from other centers. Dr. Telischi says the 3-D hook up, which is unique among microsurgery training facilities, is vital to the center's teaching methodology. In so doing, participants observe the teaching staff conduct the latest, cutting-edge procedures.