Recent Advances in Head and Neck Surgery and Training of Surgical Techniques at Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery of Tokushima University Hospital

Recent advances in head and neck surgery, such as transcanal endoscopic ear surgery, endoscopic laryngopharyngeal surgery, and transoral videolaryngoscopic surgery, have been introduced at Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery of Tokushima University Hospital. A surgical navigation system and nerve-integrity monitoring system have also been introduced for computer-assisted head and neck surgery. Surgical training using human cadavers and virtual reality simulator are now well-recognized to be helpful for acquiring complex skills. Tokushima University Hospital developed the Clinical Anatomy Lab (CAL) for surgical training using fresh frozen cadavers, and our department started surgical training for acquiring skills in head and neck surgery in CAL. The virtual reality-simulated surgical training system is also adopted for surgical education of medical students and residents. Recently, our department launched the Tokushima ENT Skills Lab workshop for high-level training in surgical techniques.