Practice Makes Perfect in Texas Hill Country

SPRING BRANCH, Texas - June 1, 2018 - PRLog -- Practice makes perfect…a rather tiring cliché, but here at the Centre for Healthcare, Innovation & Sciences, the ability to practice is priceless.  Repeated practice, by definition, is all about reducing variation, and that practice yields perfection in activities that have rigid, unchanging sets of rules. Now, imagine yourself needing a serious surgery. You would find comfort in knowing that your surgeon practiced his or her skills to perfection in an advanced classroom and laboratory before treating real patients. Our innovative, State Anatomical Board approved facility allows for such invaluable practice. The following story is but one example of how that age-old adage came to life here at the Centre.

A vibrant young woman, an active military officer overseas in combat, was diagnosed with a large cancerous mass in her lower left abdomen. As a result, she returned stateside to San Antonio for a treatment plan work up and orthopedic oncology services.  As with so many American female officers, she had a wonderful sort of bravado about her, and she requested the following of her doctors:  "I have plans in life. I want to finish a marathon and have a baby."

The doctors had come to realize that although initial efforts to treat the cancer were designed to simply save her leg, the aggressive nature of her cancer resulted in the need for a change in the treatment plan. The required surgery now was a hemipelvectomy, a lifesaving operation with mass removal that would amputate half of the pelvis and the leg on that side. It is among the most rare of lower extremity amputations.

The operative concerns of the doctors included the officer's life, neurology and vascular compromise, as well as abdominal and reproductive organ involvement. Fortunately, a local resource, the Centre for Emergency Health Sciences, could allow the surgical team a chance to practice the skills and procedures needed for an optimal result in this difficult case. They worked for two lengthy days at our Centre, repeatedly practicing the grueling procedure. Without the opportunity to practice, prepare, and plan in the cadaver lab for such a complex procedure, the likelihood of a positive outcome for the patient would have been reduced significantly. The surgeons and operating room staff not only saved the officer's life, but she participated in a mini-marathon riding a modified bike, and has been blessed with the delivery of a wonderful baby. According to the surgeons leading the team, there is no doubt that the unrestricted dissections, practice, and planning contributed to the success of this marathon surgery effort.

Regular exercise of an activity or skill is the way to become proficient in it, and in the Bulverde Spring Branch community, a facility that maintains dedicated human anatomical centric staff and faculty, as well as the equipment and specimens to deliver the hands-on practice, is redefining healthcare in a broad spectrum of ways. At our Centre, we are very proud to have the team and tools that culminate in saving and enriching lives.
Learn more: http://www.hiscentre.com