1991-1993 FUELING A REVOLUTION
In the early nineties, the medical world was hit by the impact of an innovative and exciting way to perform operations: Micro invasive surgery (MIS). The great potential for all kinds of interventions and the indisputable advantages, like less patient traumatization and faster recovery, were fascinating. Many experienced Doctors dedicated themselves to the exploration of MIS and became pioneers of a whole new area of medicine.
The European Surgical Institute (ESI), founded in 1991, was the first educational facility in Europe to teach and develop MIS. When we started our work, the ESI was located in some rooms on the compound of Johnson & Johnson MEDICAL. The scientific environment, the unmatched technical equipment and of course the scent of groundbreaking discoveries soon attracted so many healthcare professionals, that one year later it was agreed to begin the construction of a separate building. In May 1993 the ESI opened its doors on the new site.

 
1993-1997 EXPLORING NEW SPACES
The new building opened access to new possibilities. Not only could more courses be held, the variety of contents extended parallel to the advances MIS made. Furthermore, other surgical specializations like spine surgery or perforating vein surgery, were included into ESI’s program.
This evolvement in the ESI’s educational activities was accompanied by the ambition to open access to MIS for an audience as big as possible. So within those first years, the ESI also established itself as a centre for congresses and symposia, which were and still are hosted by some of the best surgeons in Europe and attended by medical professionals from all over the world.

 
While MIS still was an innovative movement in medical science, the next revolution was in sight already: In 1996, the AESOP system, a voice controlled robotic arm that assists in laparoscopic surgery, resided at the ESI for the first time. This combination of human skills and state of the art technology was a first glimpse of what the future should bring.
 
1997-2000 DESIGNING THE FUTURE
In 1997 the ESI acquired its first minimal invasive surgical trainer virtual reality, or MIST VR in short. The use of computer simulation was breaking new ground in the training of healthcare professionals, and since then the ESI is heading a movement that still fundamentally changes professional education. The Institute has one of the biggest installations of virtual reality systems worldwide and is also involved directly in the development of new training modules, applications and design of the hardware.
The success of ESI’s ways of training materialized in the year 2000, when the second building was opened next ESI One. With the new building came the Joseph-Lister Auditorium, an amphitheatre with the capability of more than 350 seats and equipped with the latest technologies.
 
2000-TODAY
In the past years, the ESI has driven forward its multi-discipline approach. Besides the laboratories for laparoscopic surgery that it had since day one, it now also features dedicated learning environments for orthopedics, microsurgery and cardiovascular trainings. Technical innovations like the Simbionix GI Mentor or the KARL STORZ OR1™ are frequent guests or even permanent installations.
The Institutes philosophy of combining high scientific standards and innovative technical settings helps to develop the skills of more than 10,000 healthcare professionals per year and so improves the lives of unnumbered patients. Because that’s what we do: Transforming patient care through innovation.