Surgical training in video-assisted neck surgery-based thyroidectomy using fresh frozen human cadavers

Endoscopic surgery has been introduced in various surgical fields. Endoscopic surgery requires different skills from open surgery due to the restricted surgical field and difficulty in identifying anatomical structures from certain viewpoints. Therefore, surgeons need to undergo sufficient surgical training before performing such surgery in the clinical setting. We examined the utility of fresh frozen human cadavers for surgical training aimed at introducing video-assisted neck surgery (VANS) at our department. First, we performed surgical training using fresh human cadavers four times. Next, we performed hemi-thyroidectomy with VANS in 5 clinical patients. After the cadaver training and the actual surgery, the surgeons evaluated each step of the surgical procedure using a 3-point scale. In the cadaver training, the scores for steps : creation of a subcutaneous tunnel and lifting up the skin flap and pre-thyroid muscles were higher than other steps. And a tracheal injury occurred as a complication. However, we were able to recognize anatomical structures under the endoscopic view. And it was also useful for confirming the role of surgical staff and simulating the placement of surgical equipment. Surgical training using fresh frozen human cadavers was effective at introducing a new surgical method.