Zurich – Balgrist University Hospital is promoting training and techniques in minimally invasive spinal endoscopy. The newly founded EndoSpine Academy aims to make this cost-saving method, which can be performed on an outpatient basis, widely available in the future.
Balgrist University Hospital(UKB) is advancing the worldwide establishment of keyhole surgery for spinal treatments. According to a press release, the EndoSpine Academy will be founded at the Zurich clinic for this purpose, where selected surgeons will have access to highly qualified training. Nine internationally experienced endoscopy specialists from Argentina, China, Germany, Jordan, Korea, Mexico and the USA are supporting the project and are coming together in Zurich for this purpose. The first course took place on June 6th and 7th of this year.
The aim of the EndoSpine Academy is to provide selected surgeons with access to high-quality training in the technique of minimally invasive spinal endoscopy, according to the press release. In addition to enabling patients to recover postoperatively in their familiar home environment, outpatient procedures also reduce costs, particularly for inpatient care and hotel services.
"Spinal endoscopy not only has a significantly lower risk of infection than open surgery, it can also replace treatment methods that require hospitalization," Mazda Farshad, Medical Director of the UKB, is quoted as saying in the press release. "As what is now the largest spine center in Zurich, with several locations, over 24,000 consultations and 1,500 operations a year, we see it as our duty as a university institution to establish the surgery of tomorrow for our patients today," adds Thomas Huggler, Director of Operations at the hospital. ce/eb