Saturday, August 16th 10:00-11:30 a.m. CT | Faculty demonstration, TAR procedure
Registration is now closed.
We’re proud to host the 7th Annual Hernia Compact! In partnership with AHS leadership, Medtronic welcomes faculty and their selected residents or fellows to our Minnesota labs for 2.5 days of cadaveric training and didactic instruction on hernia repair.
Want to join us remotely? Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from Dr. Yuri Novitsky—the pioneer of the TAR technique—as he performs a live cadaveric case via Touch Surgery™ Live Stream, moderated by Dr. Salvatore Docimo.
Dr. Salvatore Docimo, Jr., DO, MBA, FACS, FASMBS is a board-certified, fellowship-trained general surgeon and Associate Professor of Surgery at USF Health. He specializes in bariatric surgery, complex abdominal wall reconstruction, hernia repair, and advanced endoscopy, with a focus on minimally invasive and robotic techniques to support faster recovery. This year, Dr. Docimo served as the lead faculty for the 7th Annual Hernia Compact, where his leadership and partnership have been invaluable to Medtronic in advancing surgical education. He completed his medical training at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, residency at NYU Langone Hospital, and fellowship at Penn State Hershey. Prior to USF, he held leadership roles at Stony Brook Medicine and helped pioneer innovative endoscopic procedures. Dr. Docimo has authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications, co-edited Clinical Algorithms in General Surgery, and currently serves as Co-Chair of the AHS Education Committee.
Dr. Yuri Novitsky is an internationally recognized leader in advanced laparoscopic and robotic surgery, best known for pioneering the transversus abdominis muscle release (TAR) technique for complex hernia repair. His work has transformed minimally invasive ventral hernia surgery and abdominal wall reconstruction worldwide. With over 130 peer-reviewed publications and more than $2 million in research funding, Dr. Novitsky continues to advance surgical innovation and improve outcomes for hernia patients. He currently serves in national leadership roles with the Americas Hernia Society and SAGES, among others.He completed surgical training at Mount Sinai and the University of Massachusetts, with fellowships in minimally invasive surgery, and held leadership roles at UConn Health before moving to Cleveland in 2011. In addition to his clinical and research work, Dr. Novitsky remains deeply committed to mentoring and surgical education, as evident in his involvement in Hernia Compact over the years.
Participating Faculty
Dr. Vedra Augenstein Atrium Health
Dr. Vikram Deka
Dignity Health
Dr. Salvatore Docimo
University of South Florida –Moderator
Dr. Yuri Novitsky
Columbia University –Educator/Surgeon performing TAR
Dr. Sean Orenstein Oregon Health & Science University
Dr. Matthew Ritter
Indiana University School of Medicine
Dr. Todd Heniford
Endeavor Health
Dr. Monica Polcz
University of South Florida
Dr. Dina Podolsky
Columbia University
Dr. Kent Van Sickle
UT Health San Antonio
Touch Surgery™ is a digital ecosystem that strives to improve surgeon performance throughout the perioperative journey by increasing access to advanced learning tools, simplifying workflow analysis and providing objective data to optimize the quality of care for patients worldwide.
The Touch Surgery™ Video component of the ecosystem is an intelligent, cloud-based solution comprised of hardware (the DS1 computer) that records video and other non-patient metadata from the video imaging system during robotic-assisted and laparoscopic procedures. Powered by real-time artificial intelligence (AI), the DS1 computer automatically redacts video footage captured when the camera is external to the patient. Videos are securely stored on the cloud and are easily accessible on either mobile or web via Touch Surgery™.
With Touch Surgery™ Performance Insights, AI algorithms extract additional objective information from procedural videos to provide surgeons with a more easily digestible summary of the events that occurred during the case.
Touch Surgery™ Live Stream enables surgeons to broadcast surgeries in real-time to colleagues worldwide, fostering a global network of expertise. This real-time communication facilitates surgical training, coaching and technical support.
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