Modular surgical training for endoscopic extraperitoneal radical prostatectomy.

Objective: To develop a modular training scheme which enabled the use of individual steps of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RP) for teaching and training surgeons with varied experience, including residents with no experience in open RP, as in extending laparoscopic surgery to more complex operations like RP, the proper training of urologists is crucial.

Subjects And Methods: The technique of endoscopic extraperitoneal RP (EERP) was divided into 12 individual steps of differing complexity. The levels of difficulty were called "modules" and graded according to their requisite skills from module 1 (lowest level of difficulty) to module 5 (highest level).