Simulation may reduce the risks associated with the complex operations of cardiothoracic surgery and help create a more efficient, thorough, and uniform curriculum for cardiothoracic surgery fellowship. Here, we review the current status of simulation in cardiothoracic surgical training and provide an overview of all simulation models applicable to cardiothoracic surgery that have been published to date.
Methods
We completed a comprehensive search of all publications pertaining to simulation of cardiothoracic surgical procedures by using PubMed.
Results
Numerous cardiothoracic surgical simulators at various stages of development, assessment, and commercial manufacturing have been published to date. There is currently a predominance of models simulating coronary artery bypass grafting and bronchoscopy and a relative paucity of simulators of open pulmonary and esophageal procedures. Despite the wide range of simulators available, few models have been formally assessed for validity and educational value.
Conclusions
Surgical simulation is becoming an increasingly important educational tool in training cardiothoracic surgeons. Our next steps forward will be to develop an objective, standardized way to assess surgical simulation training compared with the current apprenticeship model.
CTSNet classification
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Abbreviations and Acronyms
CAB
coronary artery bypass
CPB
cardiopulmonary bypass
CT
cardiothoracic
HPS
human performance simulator
OR
operating room
SBM
simple bench model
VATS
video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery
VRS
virtual reality simulator
VSC
Visioning Simulation Conference
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Disclosures: Authors have nothing to disclose with regard to commercial support.