Simulators in surgery

The introduction of minimally invasive surgery has demonstrated the need for training surgical skills outside the operating room using animal models or simulators. As laparoscopic surgery involves displaying images on a screen, virtual reality simulation of the surgical tasks is feasible. Different types of simulators have become available. The existing trainers can be divided into three groups: mechanical, hybrid, and virtual reality. This article aims at giving an overview of the different simulators available and the potential of simulators in the education of surgeons with focus on virtual reality simulators. All simulators aim at training psychomotoric skills and some simulators also allow training in decision-making and anatomical orientation. In the future virtual reality simulators may become a tool for training and validation of surgical skills and monitoring the training progress.