Low cost simulator for acquiring basic laparoscopic skills

Introduction: Laparoscopic surgery requires a different set of skills than conventional surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a low-cost simulator and camera for the acquisition of basic laparoscopic skills. Material and Methods: This randomised trial involved 48 subjects (32 students and 16 surgeons). Two exercises were used, object transfer and cutting. Students were divided into two groups (n=8). One group performed the exercises in the operating theatre with the conventional laparoscopic camera. The second group performed the exercises in a classroom with a low cost micro-camera. Both groups were evaluated before and after five training sessions. Two groups of students were used as controls (n=8), and were evaluated two times without training. The surgeons were divided in two groups (n=8), one was evaluated in the theatre and the other one in the classroom. Results: The trained groups showed significant improvements in the first exercise (P < 0.001) compared with non-trained groups. There were no differences in scores between the groups with different cameras. The surgeons had better scores than students (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The improvements in laparoscopic skills on this simulator with a low-cost camera were not significantly different from those gained using the simulator with the conventional laparoscopic camera. This simulator was able to differentiate between experienced and inexperienced subjects. (C) 2009 AEC. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.