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History
of the Microsurgical Dissection Laboratory
History
of the Center | Lab Equipment
 Formerly The Temporal Bone Laboratory, the Jorge N. Buxton, M.D., Microsurgical Education Center located on the 5th Floor of the South Building was made possible by the generous donations by Alcon Laboratories, Inc., the Charles and Mildred Schumacher Foundation, Ambrose Monell Foundation and many physicians and friends of The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. The new Center officially opened on September 23, 2004.
The Laboratory’s early stages
Hands-on study of specimens prior to entering the operating room has a long history at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. For many years, starting early in the 20th century, Dr. Edgar Burchell created a world-famous teaching collection of anatomy and pathology of the eyes and ears. He left a library of hundreds of temporal bones, and his study of the seventh, or facial, nerve taught generations of surgeons the means to minimize operative danger of disfigurement.
In 1958 The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary established its first official Temporal Bone Laboratory, which consisted of one teaching station equipped with hammers and chisels and plaster molds to anchor the temporal bone. Several years later, a second station was installed with a microscope and a drill system. This facility was used until 1972.
A larger lab, a leader in the field
In the early 70’s, illustrious otolaryngologist and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary alumnus Young Bin Choo, MD, successfully acquired a $100,000 grant from the Guggenheim Foundation to construct an 11- station, state-of-the-art Temporal Bone Laboratory. The designer was Jack Urban, who designed the only other Laboratory of its kind in the world for the House Otology Group.
More than 1,800 physicians were trained in this Laboratory under the direction of Emmett E. Campbell, MD, otologist and another graduate of The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary’s otolaryngology program (Class of 1959). Dr. Campbell offered courses to residents and attending physicians, many of whom came from around the world including Australia, Canada, Egypt, Great Britain, Japan, India, Iran, Ireland and the Philippines to attend his courses.
In 1995, Christopher J. Linstrom, MD, assumed the role as the Lab’s Medical Director and carried on the fine tradition of offering highly regarded temporal bone dissection courses to residents and attending physicians.
 Newest, multi-purpose facility
Through the efforts of physicians, administrators, fund raisers and technical support personnel, The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary raised over 1.1 million dollars to completely rebuild the Laboratory. Named after one of The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary’s most prestigious ophthalmologists, Jorge N. Buxton, MD, it was expanded to 16 work stations, each equipped with state of the art microscopes and dissection equipment for temporal bone surgery, ophthalmologic surgery, head and neck dissection, sinus surgery, and plastic surgery.
This Center truly enables us to bridge the gap between academic medicine and the operating room, providing both residents in training and physicians in practice the opportunity to develop and refine their surgical skills before entering the operating room.
Joseph Arigo, MD, assumed the responsibilities as medical director of the Laboratory in 2003. He has put together extensive hands-on dissection programs in temporal bone surgery under his direction, head and neck anatomy courses under the direction of Stimson Schantz, MD, sinus surgery under the direction of Steven Schaefer, MD, and skull base surgery under the direction of Drs. George Alexiades and Christopher Linstrom. Mr. Arthur Tortorelli has been the Lab’s Technical Director since 1977.
In addition, Dr. Arigo has assembled several post-graduate courses with this same content for attending physicians.
The Department of Ophthalmology also uses the new facility extensively. Because the previous Laboratory was designed for temporal bone dissection, course offerings were limited by the design features. The Jorge N. Buxton, M.D. Microsurgical Education Center was designed to enable all disciplines at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary to offer courses that were not previously possible in the old facility.
The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary recognizes the significance of surgical training before entering the operating room. Therefore, it makes the Jorge N. Buxton, MD Microsurgical Education Center available for individual use, group use or use by other residency programs in the tri-state area.
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