It is a priority for every surgeon to have continuous training in theoretical aspects, as well as practical skills training, even for certain complex and infrequent surgeries.

Occasionally, thoracic surgeons are faced with situations where knowledge and skills in vascular management play a preponderant role in achieving good results in a given operation. In emergencies, as in scheduled surgeries, we may have to repair lesions of the pulmonary, mediastinal or subclavian vessels, or even cardiac sutures (exceptionally). It seems obvious that the repetition of these maneuvers increases the chances of success, decreasing the risk of thrombosis, stenosis or postoperative bleeding... However, it is not easy to keep trained as they are relatively infrequent in our clinical practice.

In accordance with the proverb that says: “What is heard is forgotten, what is seen is remembered, what is done is learned”; the optimal learning or fixation of any skill should include the tutored application of the acquired knowledge.

We consider that, for didactic, ethical and legal reasons, animal experimentation (in this case the anesthetized pig) is a suitable method for the practice of various surgical maneuvers of increasing complexity. Due to the anatomical area and certain particularities of the pulmonary and thoracic vessels, the handling of these vessels has specific characteristics, which justifies the design of a course with a specific approach for our specialty.

The association to this practice of certain alternative teaching methods in a stage prior to animal experimentation, such as the visualization of videos and the application of maneuvers in cardiopulmonary blocks, increases the effectiveness of the experimental surgical practice and enriches the content of the course. All this undoubtedly constitutes a highly recommended training option, either as a review of complex and infrequent maneuvers for the more experienced (advanced module) or before making the leap to the clinic for beginners (basic module).

The contribution of the experience and recommendations of the specialists in vascular surgery present in this course will undoubtedly lead to the optimization of these procedures, allowing the incorporation of useful gestures and knowledge for the technical improvement of the thoracic surgeon.

For this purpose, we have designed a course that aims to emphasize the training of different types of plasties, sutures and open vascular anastomoses, as well as cardiac sutures.