Presented at the 64th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Association for thoracic surgery: wet-lab training for thoracic surgery at the laboratory animal facilities

Objective The purpose of this study was to describe the animal thoracic training program for the thoracic surgery at the laboratory animal facilities Method The training was provided for 78 surgical students under the direction of thoracic medical specialists. Students attended lectures and then performed venipuncture, injection, intubation, tracheostomy, surgical cut-down, and thoracic and abdominal surgical approaches. We estimated the detailed surgical skills in two groups (67 residents and 11 thoracic fellows). Results All students demonstrated satisfactory impressions after training. We found significant difference between the skills of residents and fellows with regard to the haemostasis and suturing techniques. Conclusions Wet-lab training for thoracic surgery at the laboratory animal facilities is useful for surgical residents and thoracic fellows.