Teams of leading and assistant surgeons from across Europe including the UK, Hungary, Serbia, Portugal, Germany, Denmark and Norway, attended the very first training initiative led by ESCP's European School of Coloproctology to promote laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision (CME) for colon cancer.
The two-day course, which took place in Hamburg, Germany from 17-18 December, was designed to help attendees master anatomy and operative planning, and to learn operative techniques on a cadaver model. It combined a mixture of workshop and 1:1 learning.
Pasha Nisar, consultant colorectal and general surgeon at Ashford & St Peter’s NHS Trust, attended the course. He said:
"This course was a fantastic opportunity to learn all about CME from a panel of experts across Europe. It was thoroughly enjoyable and the techniques demonstrated enable safe, practical adoption of CME surgery. The hands-on cadaveric training delivered by experienced CME surgeons was invaluable."
Course Director Danilo Miskovic, said:
"The workshop had a real collaborative feeling throughout. We combined lectures and discussions by both faculty and participants, with everyone being encouraged to share their thoughts and opinions. There was also a more technical element involved, looking at certain skills and techniques to prepare and carry out procedures.
"This course is just the beginning. We will follow up one to one with a member of the faculty in the participants' hospitals over a period of six months, four days in total, when performing the first live cases. This way we can see them implementing what they have learned in the workshop."
For more information about the workshop and application process please visit escp.eu.com/education
You can hear more course feedback in this video: