Sunday, March 05, 2006

Advanced Renal Laparoscopy Course

I have spent last Friday and saturday participating at the first course on Advanced Renal laparoscopy organised by the Escuela Europea de Laparoscopia Urológica (EELU) in collaboration with the Instituto de Cirugía Urológica Avanzada (ICUA). Dr. Ignacio Castillón, director of the EELU and director of the Laparoscopy Unit at the ICUA, organised the course. In this ocassion, we had 16 students who had the opportunity of attending comprehensive conferences on renal laparoscopy, sessions of full time surgical videos analysis and to experimental surgical theatres. There were six invited professors including me and we had the privilege of having Dr. Hervé Baumert with us. He is currently working in Paris and Cambridge and is considered one of the top laparoscopic urologists in the world. We were amazed by his impressive collection of surgical videos.

The course was supported by Olympus, who brought some laparoscopy towers and by Ethicon Endosurgery, that provided us with a full range of laparoscopic instruments. This way, students had access to theoretical knowledge on advanced renal laparoscopy, and also to the experimental surgical theatre, where they could train on the different surgical operations performed on kidney and ureter (radical nephrectomy, partial nephrectomy, and so on and so forth), while they were able to experience the newest surgical instruments and devices, as the new Harmonic dissection device from Ethicon, and other useful devices in renal surgery, as the LapraTy, Hemolock, etc..

Thanks to the support of the Hospital Clínico Veterinario of Madrid, the spotless coordination of Ana María Muñoz, the nursing efforts carried out by Vanessa Cuadros and the almost supernatural coordination and planification abilities of Dr. Castillón, the course has been a success.

New plans for future courses: To include training in renal cryosurgery, to offer simultaneous training to nurses (to allow the surgeon to bring over nursing personnel to the course). The European School of Laparoscopic Urology is consolidating as one of the best training centers in Europe.

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