United States

• Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass
• Laparoscopic Colon Surgery

Laparoscopic Colon Surgery

Preceptorship (1-2 days)

The preceptorship program involves a surgeon trainee visiting an experienced laparoscopic surgeon's facility to observe a live lap colectomy case and tour the facility. This program is meant to be an introduction to the lap colectomy specialty for surgeons that are interested in exploring the idea of establishing an advanced laparoscopic practice. Surgeons attending the preceptorship program are not expected to perform laparoscopic colectomy surgery without further training.

During a preceptorship, the following educational activities are performed:

• Observation of Laparoscopic Colectomy and/or Open Colectomy case(s)
• Observation (tour) of facility with review of patient flow, patient selection guidelines, patient care pathways, discussion of insurance approval strategies, operating room setup, etc.
• Discussion of patient positioning and trocar placement strategies based upon patient and procedural requirements
• Discussion of instrumentation and equipment organization for optimum utilization of staff and OR resources

To find out more about participating in a Preceptorship, please contact your U.S. Surgical Certified Surgical Specialist.

Mini-Fellowship (3-5 days)

The Mini-Fellowship program is a much more comprehensive educational program for surgeons that have already completed an accredited CME course in lap colon surgery and may have completed one or two one-day preceptorship programs. The mini-fellowship program is meant to more thoroughly train surgeons to perform lap colon surgery and to educate them on procedural specifics and patient management strategies. It is at the discretion of the training surgeon and the trainer to determine if a surgeon is prepared for the proctoring of his/her first lap colon cases once the mini-fellowship program is complete, or if further training is necessary.

During a mini-fellowship, the following educational activities are performed:

• Detailed review/lecture of surgical techniques, potential intra-operative complications
• Discussion/lecture about surgeon's role in the care of the lap colectomy patient
• Discussion/lecture of post-operative patient care via observation of hospital rounds,review of treatment for potential post-operative complications
• Discussion of reimbursement strategies for laparoscopic procedures
• Observation of and/or participation in several Laparoscopic Colectomy and/or Open Colectomy cases
• Observation of Operating Room procedures with review of patient preparation and optimal patient positioning for the various procedures
• Dry skills lab or animate lab (organized with U.S. Surgical assistance if necessary)

To find out more about participating in a Mini-fellowship, please contact your U.S. Surgical Certified Surgical Specialist.