Current and potential use of fresh frozen cadaver in surgical training and anatomical education

As surgical procedures continue to be more complex, the need for more effective training in anatomy has increased. The study of anatomy plays a significant role in the understanding of the human body as well as in basic and advanced clinical training. Among the different cadaver models, fresh frozen cadavers (FFCs) are known for their realistic tissue quality. The purpose of this article was to review and summarize the preparation procedures for and reported cases involving FFCs. PubMed, Scopus, Medline, and Web of Science were searched for relevant studies. The preparation procedures were divided into five steps: washing, irrigation, freezing, defrosting, and arterial infusion. Not all steps were reported to be mandatory, but omitting one or more could result in a loss of quality. FFCs were reported to be used for various purposes: undergraduate education, general surgery training, vascular surgery training, minimal access surgery (laparoscopic surgery) training, and microsurgery training. In all categories, expert opinions and statistical analyses indicated successful outcomes. The reasons for high satisfaction with FFCs included realistic texture, capability of reenacting actual operations, and accuracy of anatomical locations. The results also revealed the importance and advantages of the dissection courses in surgical training. Since the direct comparison between cadaver models is insufficient, future studies regarding this topic are deemed necessary. In addition, it would be advantageous to develop methods to improve FFC quality, or ideas to optimize this model for certain purposes.