3D printing: shedding light into the surgical education

Abstract In recent years, new technologies have infiltrated into the modern context of medical education, especially in surgical disciplines. Needs of surgical education are mainly orientated on tangible skills and situations which have to realistically simulate the environment of the surgical site. Furthermore, not only the risk of training on real patients and the minor repeatability of traditional educational methods through intraoperative mentorship but also high cost and possible ethical concerns on other conventional methods such as wet labs (animals or cadavers) have led to the development of state-of-the-art educational techniques. The most prevalent technique is the use of three-dimensional printed materials to simulate with high accuracy a wide range of surgical procedures and skills for educating medical students, nurses, young residents, and junior surgeons [1].