The impact of incorporating surgical simulation into trichiasis surgery training on operative aspects of initial live-training surgeries.

Background: While surgical simulation is regularly used in surgical training in high-income country settings, it is uncommon in low- and middle-income countries, particularly for surgical training that primarily occurs in rural areas. We designed and evaluated a novel surgical simulator for improving trachomatous trichiasis (TT) surgery training, given that trichiasis is mostly found among the poorest individuals in rural areas.

Methodology/principal Findings: TT surgery programs were invited to incorporate surgical simulation with a new, high fidelity, low-cost simulator into their training.

Neglected Tropical Diseases, Cross-Cutting Issues Workshop, 4-6 February 2015, Utrecht, the Netherlands: meeting report.

In the last decade, work on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) has gained momentum. This was accelerated by the London Declaration on NTDs in January 2012. Work on NTDs has expanded worldwide and many countries have set up NTD control and elimination programs.