Human Factors in Acquiring Medical Skills; Learning and Skill Acquisition in Surgery

Abstract

Mouret first performed laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the late 1980s. Previously, laparoscopic techniques were part of gynecological practice and it was not until the development of a video computer chip allowed the magnification and projection of images on to television screens that laparoscopic surgery became integrated into general surgery (Johnson et al. 1992). The main difference between laparoscopic and traditional open surgery is that there is no need for a single large incision; instead a number of small stab incisions are made in the patient’s abdomen through which surgical instruments are passed via trocars.