Microsurgery in the Netherlands, from an experimental pharmacological perspective

Abstract

This paper is dedicated to the memory of Hans Rensema (1948–2020), medical artist of Microsurgical Developments Foundation.The history of training in microsurgical and experimental techniques in the Netherlands goes back to the 1960s. The training was mostly done on an individual basis. Clinical surgeons could benefit from the 'Wet-Lab' training at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. Experimental microsurgery and techniques training for larger groups of bio-technicians and researchers started at Utrecht University in 1993, and later at Groningen University. The first commercial training was offered at the International Microsurgical Training Centre in Lelystad (IMTC,) in 2002. This paper presents the current state-of-the-art training in the Netherlands and some future perspectives.Professor Remie studied Pharmacy at the University of Groningen. After completing his studies in 1983, he specialised in pharmacology and did his PhD on the presynaptic modulation of noradrenergic neurotransmission in the freely moving rat portal vein. He joined Solvay Pharmaceuticals as a Group leader in Pharmacology, specialized (1991) in Laboratory Animal Science (Utrecht University), and became Laboratory Animal Scientist and Animal Welfare Officer of Solvay Pharmaceuticals and Fort Dodge Animal Health Holland. He is chairman of the Microsurgical Developments Foundation and several IACUCs. From 1997 until 2012, he was appointed professor with a special chair in Microsurgery and Experimental Technique in Laboratory Animals at the Groningen Centre for Drug Research, Department of Biomonitoring & Sensoring, University Centre for Pharmacy, University of Groningen. He is CEO of 3-R's Training Centre BV, and Director of the René Remie Surgical Skills Centre (www.rrssc.eu).Irene Cuesta Cobo earned a BSc in Biology and physiotherapy, and an MSc in manual therapy at the University of Jaén (Spain). She worked at the department of physiology at the same university on an in-vivo assay with gliomas in rats and subsequently, at the Laboratory of CAR Madrid to analyse top athletes' blood samples. She is a senior instructor at RRSSC.Edwin Spoelstra earned an MSc in Pharmacy and specialised stereotaxic surgery and microdialysis in the rat. He developed several techniques in mice and spent the last ten years on catheter design and blood-sampling.