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Experienced surgeons versus novice surgery residents: Validating a novel knot tying simulator for vessel ligation
Imri Amiel1, Roi Anteby2, Moti Cordoba2
1Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel; Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat-Gan, Israel; Israel Center for Medical Simulation (MSR), Tel-Hashomer, Israel; Talpiot Medical Leadership Program, Sheba Medical Center, Israel.
Background:
Vessel ligation with a knot is one of the most fundamental tasks surgeons must master. We developed a simulator designed to enable novices to acquire and refine gentle knot tying capabilities.
Methods:
A bench-top, knot-tying simulator with computer-acquired assessment was tested on expert surgeons and surgery residents at an academic medical center during the years 2016 to 2018. Each participant tied a total of 8 knots in different settings (superficial versus deep) and techniques (1-handed versus 2 hands). The simulator measured vertical forces and task completion time.
Results:
Fifteen experienced surgeons and 30 surgery residents were recruited. The expert group exerted considerably less total force during placement of the knots than the novice residents (3.8 ± 2.0 vs 9.2 ± 6.1 N, respectively; P = .0005) and the peak force exerted upward was less in the expert group (1.31 ± 0.6 vs 1.75 ± 0.84 N; P = .02). The experts also completed the task in less time (10.9 ± 3.4 vs 18.3 ± 7.2 seconds; P = 0.001).
Conclusion:
The simulator can offer residency programs a low-cost, bench-top platform to train and assess objectively the knot-tying capabilities of surgery residents.
