New mock operating room in North San Antonio used to help remove stigma from surgery

TSAOG worked with Michigan-based Stryker, a medical technology company, to develop the 97,000-square-foot showroom, which has a mock operating room to demonstrate what happens to a patient before and during orthopedic surgery.

Jenny Halpin, public relations representative for TSAOG, told Community Impact Newspaper each fall season there is a large number of orthopedic patients who try to schedule their elective procedures before year’s end after putting off those surgeries.

One key aim for TSAOG and the Stryker Educational Showroom is to help patients to decrease their anxiety about surgery.

“Our goal is that this new first-of-its-kind educational showroom helps eliminate some of that fear,” she said.

The showroom also features:

• an interactive video board where patients can push buttons and learn about surgical procedures;
• 10 real implants from the hip, knee, shoulder, spine, foot, ankle and more so the patient can see what will be holding them together;
• CT scans of what implants look like after surgery; and
• machines that are actually used during surgery.

Each item inside the mock operating room is numbered so patients know what they are looking at and can learn more about it on the video screen.

Additionally, new medical staff can use the area to familiarize themselves with the machines, equipment and implants.

In the showroom promotional video, Dr. Kevin Kirk, a foot, ankle, lower leg and knee surgeon at TSAOG, called the showroom state-of-the-art and the premier orthopedics center in San Antonio.

“The partnership between TSAOG and Stryker allows us the innovate and provide the best outcomes for our patients,” Kirk said.

For more information about TSAOG and the new educational showroom, visit www.tsaog.com.