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Updated: Jan 18, 2026
Manufacture of a Multi-Purpose Low-Cost Animal Bench-Model for Teaching Tracheostomy
Published on: May 18, 2019
Live porcine model for surgical training in tracheostomy and open-airway surgery
Ashley R Deonarain1,2,3, Robert V Harrison1, Karen A Gordon1
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Objectives/Hypothesis:
To evaluate the validity of a live porcine model for surgical training in tracheostomy and open-airway surgery.
Study Design:
Prospective observational study.
Methods:
Eleven expert otolaryngologists-head and neck surgeons rated a live porcine model's realism/anatomical accuracy (face validity) and perceived effectiveness as a training tool (content validity) for tracheostomy and laryngotracheoplasty using anterior costal cartilage and thyroid ala cartilage grafts using a 53-item post-trial questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale.
Results:
Experts rated the face validity of the live porcine model a median (interquartile range [IQR]) of 4/5 (4-5) and the content validity a median (IQR) of 5/5 (4-5) for each surgical procedure. Overall, 91% strongly agreed or agreed that the simulator would increase trainee competency for tracheostomy and laryngotracheoplasty using costal cartilage graft, and 82% strongly agreed or agreed that it would increase trainee competency for laryngotracheoplasty using thyroid ala cartilage graft.
Conclusions:
The live porcine model has high face and content validity as a training tool for tracheostomy and laryngotracheoplasty using costal cartilage and thyroid ala cartilage grafts. This training model can help surgical trainees practice these complex, low-frequency procedures.
Level Of Evidence:
NA Laryngoscope, 130: 2063-2068, 2020.
