Laparoscopic urethrovesical anastomosis: a model to assess surgical competency

To create a model for the evaluation of resident competency and performance of laparoscopic skills in compliance with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) outcome assessment guidelines for urology residency programs.

A model of laparoscopic interrupted urethrovesical anastomosis was developed using chicken skin from a local supermarket. Eight residents at various training levels utilized a simulator with a camera-operating assistant to practice placing interrupted stitches. The time necessary for completion of an anastomosis and the quality of the anastomosis were documented.

The time required to recreate a simulated urethrovesical anastomosis by placing six interrupted stitches declined from an initial mean of 60.75 minutes to 20.5 minutes after each resident had performed 20 anastomoses each. The mean improvement was 39.5 minutes, with one postgraduate year-3 resident demonstrating an improvement of 50 minutes.

This model can be used by ACGME-certified urology residency programs to assess the laparoscopic skills of residents.