Telepresence and telementoring in surgery.

Telesurgical mentoring has evolved as an important subset of telemedicine, yet has remained an underutilized technique when all its potential is considered. As applied to surgery, telementoring is used when an experienced surgeon assists or directs another less experienced surgeon who is operating at a distance. Two- and three-dimensional, video-based laparoscopic procedures are an ideal platform for real-time transmission and thus for applying …