Simuladores virtuales en la formación de cirugía laparoscópica: una nueva era de aprendizaje

Laparoscopic surgery has become one of the most widely used techniques in contemporary surgical practice, thanks to its widely recognized benefits, such as reduced invasiveness, faster recovery, and lower rates of postoperative complications. In this context, virtual simulators emerge as a key pedagogical tool to transform learning in minimally invasive surgery, allowing residents and students to practice complex procedures in controlled and realistic environments without risks to real patients. These technologies optimize the limited surgical resources available by shifting part of the training from the operating room where time and materials are constrained to an accessible and repeatable virtual space, accelerating the acquisition of technical skills such as intracorporeal suturing or instrument manipulation. The authors consider virtual simulation to be an invaluable opportunity to innovate in the teaching of laparoscopic surgery, improve patient safety by minimizing initial errors in the operating room, and optimize learning processes through immediate feedback and objective performance metrics.