Development of an optimal diaphragmatic hernia rabbit model for pediatric thoracoscopic training.

Our objectives were to standarize the procedure needed to reproduce a similar surgical scene which a pediatric surgeon would face on repairing a Bochdalek hernia in newborns and to define the optimal time period for hernia development that achieve a realistic surgical scenario with minimimal animal suffering. Twenty New Zealand white rabbits weighing 3-3.5 kg were divided into four groups depending on the time frame since hernia creation to thoracoscopic repair: 48 h, 72 h, 96 h and 30 days.