Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the animal thoracic training program for the thoracic surgery at the laboratory animal facilities
Method: The training was provided for 78 surgical students under the direction of thoracic medical specialists. Students attended lectures and then performed venipuncture, injection, intubation, tracheostomy, surgical cut-down, and thoracic and abdominal surgical approaches. We estimated the detailed surgical skills in two groups (67 residents and 11 thoracic fellows).
Results: All students demonstrated satisfactory impressions after training. We found significant difference between the skills of residents and fellows with regard to the haemostasis and suturing techniques.
Conclusions: Wet-lab training for thoracic surgery at the laboratory animal facilities is useful for surgical residents and thoracic fellows.