Dr. S.P. Rodrigues

Laparoscopic workshop at the Skillslab

Workshop Leader: Dr. S.P. Rodrigues

Department: Gynaecology, Leiden University Medical Center

In this workshop an introduction is given to laparoscopic skills training in laboratory setting.

Laparoscopic surgery is a relatively new surgical technique. Despite the advantages of laparoscopy over the conventional open surgical approach for patients, it poses specific demands on the surgeon. He (or she) needs to interpret the three-dimensional operation field from a two-dimensional screen and uses long instruments with limited motion freedom. Additionally, the instrument manipulation and camera navigation require a good hand-eye coordination.

For that reason, and because of ethical and financial constraints, various devices have been developed to train laparoscopic skills outside the operating room. In the skills laboratory of the LUMC box trainers have been designed, and validated, and have shown to enable to train medical students (without prior experience) up till expert level.

During the workshop you are introduced to the world of surgical simulation and you will get the opportunity to test and train your own skills.

The workshop is organized by Sharon Rodrigues. Besides being at the beginning of her residency Obstetrics and Gynaecology, she is working on a thesis on minimally invasive gynaecological surgery. This research project concerns the training and evaluation of surgical skills, and introduces and evaluates new technological developments of the University of Technology of Delft.