Head, Division of Minimally Invasive General and GI Surgery. Department of Surgery; Proud Texas Aggie, Class of '79; Diver; Photographer; BBQ Enthusiast
Excited about the use of Apple Vision Pro for endoscopic skull base surgery. After Performing over 5000 endoscopic surgeries, this is an amazing massive upgrade. Truly immersive surgery where one feels like you’re inside the brain walking around and doing the operation!
The first transphenoidal pituitary resection using wearable virtual monitors at Houston Methodist Hospital was performed today by Dr. David S. Baskin and Dr. Mas Takashima. The operation was done using the Karl Storz system and the Apple Vision Pro spatial computing device under our IRB. Neurosurgery and ENT, continuing our legacy of innovation at Houston Methodist Hospital!
@storz_karl@Apple@HMethodistMD@HMSurgery
We were happy to get together the Houston Methodist Department of Surgery family for a fantastic group dinner at the SAGES meeting in Tampa, Florida!
@HMethodistMD@HMSurgery#SAGES2026
We were sad that there was no “Top Gun” MIS competition this year at SAGES. We are happy that the Houston Methodist Department of Surgery brought home the medal for the Atlas training system competition! Congratulations to our Chief Resident, Dr. Rob Brumer! Rob won our local competition and was rewarded with a trip to an outstanding SAGES meeting. It looks like it’s “aloha time” for Rob.
@RBrumer@HMSurgery@HMethodistMD
#SAGES2026
Dr. Todd Heniford was one of our invited faculty at the inaugural MIS symposium in the Department of Surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table for any and all discussions on abdominal wall reconstruction. He brought “balance to the Force” in our discussions on how to treat the absolute worst hernia cases in a manner that reflects the highest standards of patient care with an eye towards stewardship of valuable resources. Todd is an incredible surgeon and speaker.
@HMethodistMD@HMSurgery
Dr. Sumeet Mittal was one of our outstanding invited faculty for our inaugural MIS symposium in the Department of Surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital. He shared with us his unique experience and knowledge as a foregut surgeon who can utilize the entire toolbox to improve patient care while advancing the science of surgery. Open, laparoscopic, and robotic approaches are all approaches which he has mastered to treat foregut disease. Dr. Mittal shared this experience with us in MITIE where he was able to utilize a new platform for foregut surgery. 3D 4K imaging on a virtual monitor with the Apple Vision Pro.
@HMethodistMD@HMSurgery
Dr. Conrad Ballecer was one our invited faculty at the inaugural MIS symposium in the Department of Surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital. Conrad was, as usual, a crowd pleaser from both the podium and in MITIE, where he educated residents and faculty alike on the nuances of advanced abdominal wall reconstruction. I am proud that we were able to teach him a little about our use of the Apple Vision Pro in the OR! Shaka bruh!
@HMethodistMD@HMSurgery
Dr. Caitlin Houghton was one of our fabulous posse of invited speakers at the inaugural MIS symposium in the Department of Surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital. She shared her wisdom and experience with us as an advanced foregut surgeon. She educated and engaged from the podium. She fully immersed herself in our rodeo culture. She showed us the best robotic techniques in modern foregut surgery over in MITIE. And yes, she even got Dr. Reardon to (Gasp!) park himself at the console! “Bless me Father, for I have sinned…”
@HMethodistMD@HMSurgery@caithoughton13
Dr. Christy Dunst was one of our outstanding invited faculty at the inaugural MIS symposium in the Department of Surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital. She educated us on new developments in foregut surgery from the podium, engaged us in lively discussions, taught us over in MITIE, and became a fan of using the Apple Vision Pro to do MIS foregut surgery. The entire time she was stylin’ with her awesome cowboy boots!
@HMSurgery@HMethodistMD
Dr. Sharona Ross was one of our outstanding visiting faculty for our inaugural MIS symposium here in the Department of Surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital. Our surgeons got one-on-one time at the console with one of the world’s best MIS pancreas surgeons. There’s a new sheriff in town!
@HMethodistMD@HMSurgery@RossSharona
Women in surgery were well represented amongst our invited faculty at our inaugural MIS symposium here in the Department of Surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital. Rodeo and “Cowboy casual” were de rigueur dress, both on the podium and for our social activities. We tried to share a little bit of our Texas hospitality with our guests.
@HMethodistMD@HMSurgery@RossSharona@caithoughton13
Our local faculty did an outstanding job at our inaugural Houston Methodist Hospital Department of Surgery Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium.
Dr.’s Caroline Simon, Lee Morris, Gabe Arevalo, and Ray Chihara led interactive discussions focused on improving lives through laparoscopic and robotic techniques!
@HMethodistMD@HMSurgery@RossSharona@caithoughton13
Dr. @scopdoc completed the first minimally invasive surgery using 4K 3D spatial computing with a head-mounted virtual monitor in June 2025. He explains how it improves surgeon vision, ergonomics, and integrates imaging and patient data in real time.
Watch: https://t.co/1apor8vaGa