Simulators, first experiences

It is increasingly being recognized that laparoscopic surgery poses specific strains on the surgical novice. Specific psychomotor skills are required, which cannot easily be acquired by extrapolation from open surgery. Also, limited teaching time in the strict surgical training curricula makes it difficult to acquire such skills. Two surgical simulation platforms, the Advanced Dundee Psychomotor Tester (ADEPT(R)), and the Xitact LS500(R), are objects of study in our hospital for the training and objective assessment of laparoscopic task performance. Multiple validation studies, both at our center and at other institutions, are ongoing. Face-construct and content validity of the two systems under investigation have been established at our skills laboratory. This article highlights the most important findings of our studies using simulative surgical lapraoscopic technologies.