Cadaveric hands-on training for surgical specialties: is this back to the future for surgical skills development?

Delivery of surgical care is linked intricately to technical proficiency. Recent legislative changes in the United Kingdom have facilitated the introduction of new teaching methods. This article is a review of our experience with a cadaver laboratory housed within a tertiary referral hospital and assesses the impact of such for the future delivery of surgical care in the United Kingdom.

We describe in this article the logistics of setting up and running a fresh frozen cadaver laboratory, the governance arrangements in place, the performance of the facility in the first 2 years, and the feedback from the participants.

The center hosts approximately 60 courses per year across a range of surgical disciplines that have received excellent feedback. Support from the Trust Board, local charities, multidisciplinary faculty, and the industry underpinned by robust governance has resulted in a successful venture.

Hands-on training is increasingly relevant in craft specialties. After the introduction of the European working time directive, there is clear evidence of reduction in time spent performing live surgical procedures by trainees. There has been an explosion in the introduction of new surgical technology and marked expansion in the instrumentation that accompanies such procedures. Greater scrutiny of surgical outcomes is now in the public domain. To embrace and maximize patient benefit successfully, it is mandatory that the surgeon of the future will require access to dedicated near patient surgical training in specific skills without jeopardizing patient care.