Laparoscopy Today

The Advancement of Surgical Care - A Message from the Foundation for Surgical Fellowships

Dear Colleague:

If you took a surgical fellowship, work with a colleague who was a fellow, or if your institution offers surgical fellowships you know first-hand the critical role surgical fellowships play in the advancement of surgical care. 

AHEAD OF THE CURVE! 4 SLS PROGRAMS FOR RESIDENTS

		SLS congratulates the recipient of the Michael S. Kavic Best Resident Paper Award at MIS Week/SLS•MIRA•SRS Joint Annual Meeting & Endo Expo 2012. Mark Meyer, MD Washington Institute of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the George Washington University Washington, DC

Deadline May 4 - SLS Outstanding Laparoendoscopic Resident Nominations

Nominated by their program chairperson for demonstrating great promise in laparoscopic, endoscopic, and minimally invasive surgery, SLS Outstanding Residents receive:

Nicholson Center Grand Opening - New Center Prepared to Train 20,000 Clinicians a Year in the Latest Robotic and MIS Techniques

With an all new 54,000 square foot training facility the Florida Hospital Nicholson Center for Surgical Advancement is designed to host major medical training and educational events. It is expected that the center will be used to train about 20,000 clinicians per year in the latest robotic and mininally invasive surgical techniques. The center is designed for face to face events as well as distance learning in remote locations. Visit www.nicholsoncenter.com to learn more about the center and to take the tour of the new facililty.

REPORT FROM THE SPECIAL SLS WORKSHOP: Recent Findings About How Our Brains Learn: Implications for How we Teach

by Ann Conti Morcos, MA, ELS

The brain can’t handle nonsense, but it can handle meaning.
--Hilliard Jason, MD, PhD

A special workshop was held at the 19th SLS Annual Meeting and Endo Expo in New York City for faculty, moderators, residents, and fellows. Hilliard Jason, MD, PhD, and his wife Jane Westberg, PhD, education experts, discussed “Recent findings about how our brains learn. Implications for how we teach.” 

Being a Great Surgical Teacher

"Being effective teachers, like being effective clinicians, depends in part on what we do, and in part on who we are. In both domains we deal with people, and in both domains everything begins with an accurate and complete diagnosis. (Yes, great teaching also begins with being a diagnostician.)

Good brain research is confirming that we are all unique in the ways we perceive the world and in the ways we learn. We are even more diverse as learners than we are in the ways we manifest our medical needs." -- excerpted from Being/Becoming a Great Surgical Teacher by Hilliard Jason, MD, EdD 

Even if you missed the learning session or teaching workshop presented by Hilliard Jason, MD, EdD, at the SLS 19th Annual Meeting and Endo Expo 2010, you can still get the distilled notes.  Review 8 questions you should ask yourself as a teacher, and get the opportunity to go further into the topic through the suggested reading list.

FROM THE 19TH SLS ANNUAL MEETING: Award Winning Resident Paper

 Vadim P. Koshenkov, MD, (left) received the Michael S. Kavic (left) Award for Best Resident Paper for his abstract submission to the SLS 19th Annual Meeting and Endo Expo 2010

Laparoscopic Approach After Laparoscopic Inguinal Hernia Recurrence

Khaled El Zarrok Elgazwi, MD, PhD, Prof. Ivo. Baca, MD, PhD, Akrem Elshakhy, MD,  Arash Khani, MD
Klinikum Bremen ost. Bremen, Germany 

Background: Recurrent inguinal hernias have occurred after endoscopic inguinal hernia repair, although far less frequently than after conventional repair (in the literature between 0.1% to 1.5%). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether these recurrences can be repaired by using the laparoscopic approach with acceptable complication and recurrence rates.

FEATURED ARTICLE: THE ROLE OF SIMULATION TRAINING AND SKILL EVALUATION IN MAINTENANCE OF CERTIFICATION

HARRITH M. HASSON, MD, JOHN E. MORRISON, MD

ABSTRACT 
The American Board of Surgery revamped the Maintenance of Certification program in 2005, changing the recertification process. The 6 basic physician competencies are reflected in the 4 components of maintenance of certification: professional standing, life-long learning and self-assessment, cognitive expertise, and evaluation of surgical performance outcomes. Proficiency will be defined on the basis of objective assessment

JOURNAL WATCH: SURG ENDOSC

A Lifelike Patient Simulator for Teaching Robotic Colorectal Surgery: How to Acquire Skills for Robotic Rectal Dissection. Marecik SJ et al. 2008;22:1876-1881 • The authors report on the creation and use of a cost-effective, portable, and reusable model for training in robotic rectal dissection. Various components were included or added to the device depending on the procedure being simulted, but the basis of the tool is a plastic model of the human pelvic skeleton mounted onto a sturdy laminate-covered base using an adjustable bracket to alter the pelvic angle. The authors concluded that the trainer provided an accurate simulation of true robotic rectal dissection.

JOURNAL WATCH: J Minimally Invasive Gynecol

The Efficacy of Viewing an Educational Video as a Method for the Acquisition of Basic Laparoscopic Suturing Skills. Akl MN et al. 2008;15(4):410–413 • The twelve participants in this prospective observational study were evaluated performing 5 tasks after watching a 6 minute basic principles video: needle intro through trocar, needle loading and positioning, running continous suture, intra- and extracorporeal knot tying. The authors concluded that an educational video appears to be an effective method.