Attending the 5 day microsurgery course at René Remie’s Surgical Skills Centre has been the single best investment for my research career to date. This is a highly informative, superbly organised course which delivers vast amounts of knowledge and advice. The theoretical lectures are delivered in an interesting and casual manner. Plenty of time remains for the practical learning, using fantastic equipment and ideal surgical stations. Experiencing this ideal set up has helped me at home to set up a surgical suite that is fit for my purpose. There was no limit to the support and advice I received whilst navigating practical microsurgery techniques. No question remained unanswered, and no demonstration was too much to ask. I cannot recommend this course enough. The only regret I have about this course at the RRSSC is that I didn’t attend earlier.
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
In June 2018, I attended the 5-day iPRECIO pump implantation course, by far the best course I ever experienced. The balance between theory and practice was perfect and the close guidance during surgical skills training was very helpful. Definitely a recommendation for everyone performing surgeries on mice!
Medical University of Lodz, Poland
In June 2018, I had the great pleasure to take part in a course organized by RRSSC and Primetech on the implantation of iPrecio mini pumps into the blood vessels of mice and rats. Thanks to Rene’s valuable tips and perfectly organized training, I have almost immediately performed the procedure of the jugular and femoral vein catheterization in mice and rats. Something that previously seemed to be impossible for me. With the help of René, it took around 20 minutes to get the catheter into the vessel of choice. René is a very hospitable man with a passion for science and I admire and appreciate his great knowledge. He can talk about animals, their anatomy, and pharmacology so that the listener can not get away from the lecture. I definitely recommend everyone to come to Almere and take part in one of these rodent training courses.
Manchester University
I recently attended the Module C 5-day microsurgical course specialising in radiotelemetry implantation at René Remie Surgical Skills Centre. I would highly recommend any of the courses available to anyone who is looking to begin or improve upon microsurgical techniques in vivo. The facilities at the RRSSC were fantastic; I was genuinely surprised at how much I gained from the course. Prof. Remie has extensive knowledge of not only surgical techniques, but also anaesthesia, asepsis and anatomy, not to mention his historical knowledge on the subject! Having come from a background of some limited surgical experience I found this course extremely helpful. I came away not only feeling competent in the cannulation skills I had learnt throughout the week, but I was also given a lot of useful information to take back to my lab. The course is incredibly well organised, with each programme being tailored to your individual needs. Prof. Remie is very approachable should you have any questions (there were many), and really goes out of his way to inform his students of as much as possible, without the feeling of being overwhelmed at all.
Tube or tunnel handling course
On December 19, 2025, the first tube or tunnel handling training will be organised by RRSSC If you would like to join, please send an email to r.remie@rrssc.eu
Check out our new course dates for 2026
Please click here
Course fees for 2026
We have added the course fees to our website on the home page’s main menu. We also added some items to the shop.
Online (micro)surgical training at RRSSC
Online (micro)surgical training at RRSSC (download the PDF) At the René Remie Surgical Skills Centre (RRSSC) training facilities in Almere, The Netherlands, we have trained over 3000 surgeons, veterinarians, animal technicians, and scientists. We teach the general principle of surgery in rodents and provide training in a large number of specific (micro)surgical procedures, e.g. catheterisations for chronic blood sampling and infusion, implantation of devices (radio-telemeters, osmotic mini pumps and iPRECIO pumps), and experimental techniques such as myocardial infarction (MI, LAD obstruction), transverse aortic constriction (TAC). However, experimental techniques such as bile duct catheterization with intact entero-hepatic circulation and chronic CSF sampling in the cisterna manga of the rat are also taught. The dedicated surgical workstations, FST instruments, personal attention, and relaxed atmosphere during our courses create the ideal circumstances for knowledge transfer. Our website testimonials speak for themselves. (https://www.rrssc.eu/testimonials-2/). Why did we start this online training? Like many other businesses, we were affected by the travel restrictions of our clients due to the Corona pandemic. As a result, the number of course participants being able to follow our training modules decreased. Although we believe that surgical training is best achieved with personal guidance in our dedicated training facilities, we have the set up for online surgical training for advanced surgeons and thus expand our training possibilities. With online surgical training, we continue to comply with our mission “To share our experience and enthusiasm for setting and achieving ambitious levels of surgical skills”. This means we have set the highest standard for performing this online surgical training. Both the microscope vision and overview of the surgical area are provided. Additionally, we offer the possibility of monitoring you while performing surgery using a portable digital microscope. This allows us to guide you through procedures and help you perform complex steps in the operation. …
Tools for optimal microsurgery, Fine Science Tools (FST) and RRSSC are joining forces.
Good and reliable surgical instruments are important tools for optimal microsurgery. For over 45 years, the Fine Science Tools (FST) Group has been the leading distributor of precision surgical and microsurgical instruments and laboratory accessories in Europe. At FST, they precisely craft over 1,000 products and serve thousands of customers in universities, research facilities, biotech, and scientific institutions worldwide. They team with over 70 business partners and are working with over 50 distributors, all well-known in the fields of laboratory sales and surgical equipment. All of their European manufacturers and suppliers are ISO 9001 certified. All the employees at the three offices support the wide-ranging needs of the scientific and biomedical research communities around the globe. RRSSC and FST share several core values. Good and reliable surgical instruments are important tools for optimal microsurgery. Therefore Fine Science Tools (FST) and RRSSC are joining forces. Their selection of instruments is based on careful study and knowledge of customers’ needs, as well as listening to their requests. They use this feedback to constantly adapt their products to the laboratories, research facilities, and learning institutions that rely on them.Almost every instrument they sell is manufactured by skilled European craftsmen and designed to exact specifications. Their instruments are forged from the strongest, lightest materials available, including the finest German stainless-steel alloys. On top of that, they can help you adapt an instrument to your specific needs or refurbish used instruments. Are you interested in the RRSSC-FST instrument selection for microsurgery? Have a look here
The DSI workshop on surgical training for rodent telemetry is on again!
This training is aimed at participants who want to develop surgical skills in implanting telemetric transmitters. It requires a degree as a lab technician, veterinarian, biologist, pharmacologist or any other medical science.We recognize that a critical component to the success of collecting accurate physiological measurements via telemetry is surgical proficiency. Quality surgical training dramatically shortens the learning curve for device implantation and provides earlier success in collecting accurate data. To that end, Data Sciences International (DSI) in collaboration with the René Remie Surgical Skills Centre (RRSSC) proposes a surgical training workshop at the RRSSC. The workshop has a maximum of 8 participants. The training lasts 2 days (14 hours). Click here for additional information and registration