Programa de aprendizaje con modelos animales para corrección videoasistida de cardiopatías congénitas en edad pediátrica: primeros pasos en España

Abstract

Minimally invasive cardiac surgery has grown in popularity in the adult population over the past 10 years. This growth has been driven by a desire to achieve many of the observed benefits of minimal access surgery, such as decreased pain and reduced surgical trauma in the cardiac surgical area. However, its application in the field of congenital heart disease in paediatric patients is still limited. Alternative minimally invasive approaches have been used in these cases in recent years, but currently, the step forward to a video-assisted repair is still far away. The small size of these paediatric patients is the main limiting factor.As the use of animal models for training in surgical techniques is well-established, this article presents the initial experience in Spain of an animal model training program for video-assisted repair in congenital heart defects in paediatric patients. A discussion is presented on the preliminary results, benefits, and disadvantages of video-assisted repair in this complex scenario. This kind of training, in close partnership with paediatric surgeons with expertise in thoracoscopic techniques, is a key point for acquiring novel surgical skills for those surgeons dedicated to congenital heart defects.