Defining essential surgical skills and optimizing simulation training modalities for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion

Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is a technique mainly used to treat cervical spondylosis, which is associated with radiculopathy or myelopathy. It is difficult to perform and has been associated with many clinical complications. ACDF training is time-consuming and potentially detrimental to the quality of patient care, thus it is important to clarify the essential skills and optimal training methods for ACDF. The findings of this study will help medical educators and researchers develop more effective training programs for ACDF. In this study, three ACDF experts developed a 37-question online survey, which was shared on 4 social media groups and presented at 2 academic conferences. As a result, one hundred and sixty survey responses were collected from 109 hospitals or institutes located in 24 provincial administrative districts across China. Surgical skills directly related to the surgical procedure and the identification of important anatomical structures were rated as essential skills for ACDF trainees. The mean duration of simulated ACDF training was 19.26 ± 39.31 h. Notably, younger surgeons received more training time than senior counterparts.