Institute for Surgical Excellence Announces Caitlin Houghton, MD Appointment to Board of Directors

WASHINGTON – The Institute for Surgical Excellence (ISE) today announced the appointment of Caitlin Houghton, MD, to its Board of Directors. ISE is a non-profit organization that convenes leading innovators, hospital executives, and surgeons to develop consistent, teachable, and measurable surgical standards that directly improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Houghton is a member of faculty at The University of Southern California in the Upper GI and general surgery division. Her primary focus is on esophageal diseases including GERD, achalasia, and neoplasms. She graduated surgical residency from the University of California, Irvine then attended a fellowship at The University of California, San Diego.  She is a Mentor of Robotic Foregut Surgery for the American Foregut Society, proctoring surgeons in both Robotic surgery and LINX, and hosting case observations at HOAG medical center. She is acting Co-chair of the Robotics committee and is a member of the membership committee for the American Foregut Society

“Dr. Houghton will be an invaluable addition to the ISE Board of Directors as she brings her shared vision of improving patient care and advancing surgical excellence in all fields of medicine.,” said Dr. Martin Martino, ISE Executive Board Member, and Gynecologic Oncologist.

“Technology has already brought so much value to the operating environment we work in today.  I have seen how my own patients have benefited since adopting robotic surgery for example.  It is an honor to have the opportunity to engage with surgeons and hospital systems to promote technologies that will extend these benefits to a broader patient base.” said Dr. Caitlin Houghton, MD

Robotic surgery is transforming the healthcare landscape. With precision and perfection, surgeons can challenge traditional operating procedures by reducing pain, risk, and recovery time.  Today, minimally invasive techniques are primarily used in gynecology, urology, thoracic, and cardiac surgery.  ISE looks ahead to an exciting year filled with surgical milestones.

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ISE is a 501(c)(3) public charity, whose mission is to create lasting solutions for complex healthcare problems related to emerging technologies, with the ultimate goal to improve patient care and outcomes. ISE utilizes a systems-based approach (collective impact model) to bring together key stakeholders from a variety of sectors to identify issues, set clearly defined goals, facilitate collaboration, determine and fill gaps, and better inform health care consumers. ISE is embarking on a series of transformational projects with respect to the role and standards of surgical technologies, with the first and current focus on Robotic Surgery.  As part of this project, ISE continues to manage and develop the Robotic Training Network (RTN) through participation with hospitals across the country, and research-focused engagement with the Fundamentals of Robotic Surgery (FRS).