Cryopreserved tracheal segments: a new tool for bench surgical training in thoracic surgery.

Purpose: To present a new low-cost high fidelity bench model of cryopreserved trachea that can be used to learn surgical skills from medical students to cardiothoracic surgery fellows.

Methods: Ten tracheas were harvested from ten non-trachea related research dogs at the moment of euthanasia. Each trachea was trimmed in six or seven rings segments.