REVIEW published: 03 June 2020 doi: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00306 Frontiers in Veterinary Science | www.frontiersin.org 1 June 2020 | Volume 7 | Article 306 Edited by: Yvonne A. Elce, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada Reviewed by: Maria Fahie, Western University of Health Sciences, United States Floryne Ottilie Buishand, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom *Correspondence: Carlos A. Oviedo-Peñata carlosoviedop@ correo.unicordoba.edu.co Specialty section: This article was submitted to Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science Received: 24 February 2020 Accepted: 05 May 2020 Published: 03 June 2020 Citation: Oviedo-Peñata CA, Tapia-Araya AE, Lemos JD, Riaño-Benavides C, Case JB and Maldonado-Estrada JG (2020) Validation of Training and Acquisition of Surgical Skills in Veterinary Laparoscopic Surgery: A Review. Front. Vet. Sci. 7:306. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00306 Validation of Training and Acquisition of Surgical Skills in Veterinary Laparoscopic Surgery: A Review Carlos A. Oviedo-Peñata 1,2 *, Angelo E. Tapia-Araya 3 , Juan D. Lemos 4 , Carlos Riaño-Benavides 2 , J. Brad Case 5 and Juan G. Maldonado-Estrada 2 1 Tropical Animal Production Research Group, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny, University of Cordoba, Monteria, Colombia, 2 Surgery and Theriogenology Branch OHVRI-Group, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia, 3 LaparoEndoVet, Mobile Laparoscopy and Endoscopy Service, Barcelona, Spain, 4 Bioinstrumentation and Clinical Engineering Research Group (GIBIC), Bioengineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia, 5 Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States At present, veterinary laparoscopic surgery training is lacking in experiences that provide a controlled and safe environment where surgeons can practice specific techniques while receiving experts’ feedback. Surgical skills acquired using simulators must be certified and transferable to the operating room. Most models for practicing laparoscopic skills in veterinary minimally invasive surgery are general task trainers and consist of boxes (simulators) designed for training human surgery. These simulators exhibit several limitations, including anatomic species and procedural differences, as well as general psychomotor training rather than in vivo skill recreation. In this paper, we review the existing methods of training, evaluation, and validation of technical skills in veterinary laparoscopic surgery. Content includes global and specific scales, and the conditions a structured curriculum should meet for improving the performance of novice surgeons during and after training. A focus on trainee-specific assessment and tailored-technical instruction should influence training programs. We provide a comprehensive analysis of current theories and concepts related to the evaluation and validation of simulators for training laparoscopic surgery in small animal surgery. We also highlight the need to develop new training models and complementary evaluation scales for the validation of training and acquisition of basic and advanced skills in veterinary laparoscopic surgery. Keywords: laparoscopy, minimally invasive surgical procedures, simulation training, veterinary surgery, veterinary education INTRODUCTION Incorporation of routine minimally invasive surgery (MIS) training is a continuing matter in human (1–3) and veterinary surgery (4–6). The limited availability of models for routinely scheduled training in minimally invasive techniques in veterinary surgery is a fundamental problem to be solved for achieving the goal of well-trained veterinary MIS surgeons (7, 8). The application of MIS started at the same time in humans and small animals, but the latter appears to be delayed 20 years if compared to the humans’ counterpart (9). Laparoscopy is one of the most commonly practiced MIS disciplines providing advantages in the recovery of patients in small animal surgery compared to conventional surgery (9–13). However, laparoscopic surgery has disadvantages such