Objectives of the course: The course is designed to provide students with a foundation in Cardiothoracic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Plastic Surgery and Vascular Surgery, as well as to introduce students to how those surgical specialties apply to clinical practice.

Contents of the course: The topics covered in the course are varied and include the following:

• Cardiothoracic surgery: The thoracic trauma. The postoperative treatment and complications of thoracic surgical patients. The surgical management of coronary artery disease. The postoperative treatment and complications of cardiac surgical patients
• Neurosurgery: Traumatic brain injuries - Traumatic spine injuries. Skull and brain tumors- Spine and spinal cord tumors. Degenerative spine diseases. Cerebrovascular accidents. Hydrocefalus
• Plastic surgery: Basic principles of plastic surgery. Skin cancer. Melanoma. Flaps. Grafts. Breast reconstruction. Aesthetic plastic surgery. Burns
• Vascular surgery: Aneurysms of the aorta and peripheral arteries. Acute aortic syndromes. Carotid artery disease. Acute arterial obstruction. Peripheral arterial disease. Diabetic foot - amputations. Venous thromboembolic disease. Anticoagulant therapy. Venous reflux disease - varicose veins

Mode and outcomes of teaching: The course comprises both lectures and small group sessions. The clinical practice of students aims at interviewing, physical examination and diagnosis with standardized patients within the departments of Cardiothoracic surgery, Neurosurgery, Plastic surgery, and Vascular surgery in collaboration with the Department of Surgery. Students will learn the care of patients by means of interpreting of common diagnostic tests, defining and prioritizing problems, generating an appropriate differential diagnosis, developing of treatment strategies, and training in specific clinical procedures. The overall goal is to give student the ability to apply the basic principles of the aforementioned specialties in the clinical practice.

Hours of training per student: 125

Semester: 7th + 8th (rotation)

ECTS: 5