Professor A.V. Malinovskii: “Young doctors need to attend our distance post-graduate events!”

Currently, in the context of the growing COVID-19 pandemic, distance learning is needed not only for students and interns, but also for post-graduate students.
Our university quickly responded to today’s challenge and in the spring of 2020 introduced quality distance education. For the third year in a row, the Department of Robotic and Endoscopic Surgery has been conducting six-day TV series “Fundamentals of Lapaproscopic Surgery” on a regular basis, based on the international principles of the intensive course. Listeners attend lectures, work on practical skills on the world’s best simulators LapMentor III (Simbionix) and Simulab box simulators, as well as assist in operations. On the other hand, the department has introduced routine practice of broadcasting operations to the audience with students. Using this experience, we have decided to introduce an online version of our courses.
At the beginning of this work, on April 24, 2020, the department held a scientific and practical webinar “Key features of dissection in laparoscopic hernia of the esophageal orifice of the diaphragm.” The webinar gathered more than 100 participants, including leading specialists of our country in this type of operations. The purpose of the webinar was a thorough analysis of the technique of operations for esophageal hernia of the diaphragm on the basis of demonstration of videos of our operations, and the target audience was mainly young surgeons. It is noteworthy that this webinar was one of the first online surgical events held in Ukraine. The webinar allowed us to test the technology of holding such a plan, assess their advantages and disadvantages, analyze and learn to eliminate certain technical difficulties.
The next step was to conduct two two-day basic postgraduate online courses “Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery”. The first, May 18-19, 2020, was dedicated to safe laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the second, May 21-22 – to basic laparoscopic hernia surgery (TAPP and IPOM). These operations make up 70% of all laparoscopic operations performed in everyday practice, and it is from these operations that young surgeons begin to perform laparoscopic interventions independently. Thus, the listeners of this analogue of our traditional courses were interns, senior students, post-graduate students and young surgeons.
During each of the webinars, high-quality lectures were given with an emphasis on the basics of laparoscopic manipulations and laparoscopic anatomy, including anatomical variants and anomalies. By the way, the consequences of technical errors in abnormalities of the biliary tract were demonstrated to participants on virtual simulators! The best experience of the department on the use of fluorescent cholangiography in technically difficult cholecystectomy and the use of 3D-laparoscopy for hernias was also shown. It should be noted that the Department of Robotic and Endoscopic Surgery of ONMedU is a pioneer in the use of these technologies in Ukraine. The second part of each of the online courses was a detailed analysis of the technique of the operation on the basis of educational videos created at the department. In the end, participants received certificates having answered test tasks. The courses were attended by 60-70 young surgeons, and the activity of the audience in online chat was very high.
The last step was to hold a similar two-day course on live surgery on September 23-24, 2020. On the first day, laparoscopic intraperitoneal alloplasty of the ventral hernia (IPOM) was shown, and on the second day – laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal alloplasty of the inguinal hernia (TAP). Traditionally, all stages were carefully analyzed according to international clinical guidelines. Participants had an opportunity to ask voice questions and get a detailed answer right during the operation. In addition to broadcasts, the above mentioned lectures were given. The listeners praised the informativeness of this course and the quality of broadcast and interactivity.
Undoubtedly, in today’s world, when any move and visit to a medical institution or congress center carries a high risk of infection, conducting such basic distance training is very useful for young surgeons. After all, every young surgeon can get manual skills of laparoscopic operations in his operating room next to his teachers, as well as independently on a designed training box, at home. But learning how to perform certain operations according to international standards, see the various “tips and tricks” and get valuable comments on the technical nuances “first hand” while at home is more difficult. Our courses provide young surgeons with this opportunity. It is important that the University Clinic of ONMedU has the necessary material and technical base for the development of this modern and useful direction by various departments of the university.

Our department expresses special gratitude to the national training center “Center of Surgical Innovation” for fruitful cooperation.

We invite young doctors to attend our distance post-graduate events!