Educational needs of the EAES young surgeons.

Introduction: Surgical residency programs are facing ongoing challenges since the pandemic. The Young Member (YM) Task Force of the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) has been created to support surgical residents and surgeons under 40, promoting activities that could be useful for young surgeons and to improve networking between members of different countries. This project aimed to explore educational needs among European surgical residents to inform the EAES curriculum for young surgeons.

Value of 3D printing for the comprehension of surgical anatomy.

Background: In a preliminary experience, we claimed the potential value of 3D printing technology for pre-operative counseling and surgical planning. However, no objective analysis has ever assessed its additional benefit in transferring anatomical information from radiology to final users. We decided to validate the pre-operative use of 3D-printed anatomical models in patients with solid organs' diseases as a new tool to deliver morphological information.

From CT scanning to 3-D printing technology for the preoperative planning in laparoscopic splenectomy.

Background: Three-dimensional printing technology is rapidly changing the way we produce all sort of objects, having also included medical applications. We embarked in a pilot study to assess the value of patient-specific 3-D physical manufacturing of spleno-pancreatic anatomy in helping during patient's counseling and for preoperative planning.

Methods: Twelve patients scheduled for a laparoscopic splenectomy underwent contrast CT and subsequent post-processing to create virtual 3-D models of the target anatomy, and 3-D printing of the relative solid objects.