Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD): how do Western endoscopists value animal models?

Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD)was introduced in the West later than in the East. Our aim was to assess how Western endoscopists performing ESD have been trained and how they value animal models for training. An online survey regarding training in ESD was sent to Western endoscopists who published articles on advanced resection techniques. From 279 endoscopists, 58 (21%) completed the questionnaire, of which 50 confirmed performance of clinical ESD. Endoscopists had a median of 15 years of endoscopic experience (IQR 9.75-20.25) and all of them were performing conventional EMR, before starting ESD. Prior to clinical ESD, 74% ( Western endoscopists have extensive endoscopic experience before starting ESD. The majority had pre-clinical training with