A systematic review of surgical skills transfer after simulation-based training: laparoscopic cholecystectomy and endoscopy.

Objective: A systematic review to determine whether skills acquired through simulation-based training transfer to the operating room for the procedures of laparoscopic cholecystectomy and endoscopy.

Background: Simulation-based training assumes that skills are directly transferable to the operation room, but only a few studies have investigated the effect of simulation-based training on surgical performance.

Methods: A systematic search strategy that was used in 2006 was updated to retrieve relevant studies.