The inaugural Wessex HoLEP course was held in November 2024. HoLEP is a difficult procedure to learn with a significant learning curse. Evaluation of training courses is crucial for ensuring effectiveness and making improvements. We evaluated the educational content of the course along with delivery, participant engagement and the overall impact on surgical practice.

The Pilot 3-day HOLEP residential training course predominantly involved hands-on-training supported by lectures and virtual reality simulation. A modular approach was used by dividing the HoLEP into stages of varying difficulty (with apical dissection the most complex).
The course was evaluated using pre and post course questionnaires.
The questionnaire consisted of 16 items including whether the delegate was familiar with the steps of the HoLEP procedure and confidence in performing various stages of the procedure.

Responses were received from all 3 surgeons. By the end of the course all 3 surgeons performed part of at least 3 HOLEP procedures. One surgeon (33.3%) performed a complete HOLEP.  
VR simulation was felt to be an important part of the course. Participants found teaching on the importance of laser direction and distance from the tissues, how to position the scope and how to avoid damage to the sphincter particularly
useful.

The inaugural Wessex HoLEP course was a 3-day intensive, hands-on training course which improved participants skills and confidence in performing HoLEP procedure, however further mentorship is required following the course.
All participants rated the course highly and reported improved confidence at
performing all stages of the procedure. However, all participants felt they required
more training/mentorship feeling ‘somewhat confident’ in performing the whole
procedure. VR simulation was felt to be an important part of the course. Participants
found teaching on the importance of laser direction and distance from the tissues,
how to position the scope and how to avoid damage to the sphincter particularly
useful.

Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Boston scientific for their support and supplying the VR simulators.

[SURGEON QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ESTABLISHING A SURGEON EDUCATION SYSTEM FOR TRANSURETHRAL LASER RESECTION OF THE PROSTATE (HoLEP)] BrowZine Journal Cover [Article in Japanese] Yong-Ming Yang 1, Koki Maeda 1, Masuo Yamashita 2, Masayuki Kuwayama 3, Ichiro Nakamura 4, Yuji Yamada 5, Yasuhiko Oka 6, Yoshizumi Takechi 7, Hiroshi Maeda 8, Yuichi Sakamoto 8, Koji Yoshimura 9, Koji Chiba 1, Yuzo Nakano 1, Katsumi Shigemura 1, Masato Fujisawa 1