Boel A. Fransson, DVM, PhD, DACVS, is Director of the United States' first dedicated veterinary laparoscopic skills training laboratory and is Professor of Small Animal Surgery at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, USA. Philipp D. Mayhew, BVM&S, MRCVS, DACVS, leads one of the country's mon scientifically productive teams in small animal minimally invasive surgery, and is Professor of Small Animal Soft Tissue and Minimally Invasive Surgery at the University of Califonia-Davis in Davis, California, USA.