CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2013; 40(03): 214-219
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2013.40.3.214
Original Article

Evaluation of the Microvascular Research Center Training Program for Assessing Microsurgical Skills in Trainee Surgeons

Seiji Komatsu
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan
,
Kiyoshi Yamada
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan
,
Shuji Yamashita
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Okayama Saiseikai General Hospital, Okayama, Japan
,
Narushi Sugiyama
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan
,
Eijiro Tokuyama
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan
,
Kumiko Matsumoto
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan
,
Ayumi Takara
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan
,
Yoshihiro Kimata
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan
› Author Affiliations
This article was presented at the inauguration meeting of the International Microsurgery Simulation Society, June 30, 2012 in London, UK.

Background We established the Microvascular Research Center Training Program (MRCP) to help trainee surgeons acquire and develop microsurgical skills. Medical students were recruited to undergo the MRCP to assess the effectiveness of the MRCP for trainee surgeons.

Methods Twenty-two medical students with no prior microsurgical experience, who completed the course from 2005 to 2012, were included. The MRCP comprises 5 stages of training, each with specific passing requirements. Stages 1 and 2 involve anastomosing silicone tubes and blood vessels of chicken carcasses, respectively, within 20 minutes. Stage 3 involves anastomosing the femoral artery and vein of live rats with a 1-day patency rate of >80%. Stage 4 requires replantation of free superficial inferior epigastric artery flaps in rats with a 7-day success rate of >80%. Stage 5 involves successful completion of one case of rat replantation/transplantation. We calculated the passing rate for each stage and recorded the number of anastomoses required to pass stages 3 and 4.

Results The passing rates were 100% (22/22) for stages 1 and 2, 86.4% (19/22) for stage 3, 59.1% (13/22) for stage 4, and 55.0% (11/20) for stage 5. The number of anastomoses performed was 17.2±12.2 in stage 3 and 11.3±8.1 in stage 4.

Conclusions Majority of the medical students who undertook the MRCP acquired basic microsurgical skills. Thus, we conclude that the MRCP is an effective microsurgery training program for trainee surgeons.

This work was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) 23972045 provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Sciences, and Technology of Japan.




Publication History

Received: 26 January 2013

Accepted: 26 February 2013

Article published online:
01 May 2022

© 2013. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, permitting unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

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