The Institute of Surgery and Innovation Trunk Flap Dissection Course

Abstract

The Institute of Surgery and Innovation Trunk Flap Dissection Course is a biannual two day course, which covers dissection of flaps in the anterior and posterior trunk on fresh-frozen cadavers. The event is run by the Institute of Surgery and Innovation, and it was held for the first time in November 2013, at the Nottingham City Hospital Training Centre. The course was taught in English by senior faculty from the Department of Plastic Surgery of Nottingham University. The first day was dedicated to raising 8 flaps in the anterior chest and abdomen, while the second day was dedicated to 6 flaps in the posterior trunk and buttocks. There were 3 participants per dissection table and the faculty to participant ratio was 2:1, allowing close supervision and one-on-one teaching. Each flap was briefly introduced by a 10-minute presentation, followed by a live demonstration of how to raise the flap by one of the faculty. The main advantage of this course is that the focus is on practical dissection, rather than lectures. The presentations that were given had a very personal feel, describing real cases encountered in the faculty’s previous experience. This served as a platform to discuss dissection tips, tricks, and common pitfalls. Flaps represent the basis of reconstructive surgery; however, they are often taught late in the professional course of a residency as they are technically challenging. This course offers the opportunity to practice skills and receive very comprehensive feedback from experienced faculty. The event is open to trainees of all levels, and it attracted very junior as well as senior trainees from across Europe, thus offering an international prospective. The course’s affordability is a luring feature and the excellent content and quality of teaching makes it a highly valuable experience, which I would widely recommend to trainees of all levels.