A Low-Cost Synthetic Abdominal Wall Model ("Raj Model") for the Training of Laparoscopic Port Insertion

To assess the content validity of a low-cost bench-top model ("Raj Model") for the training of laparoscopic port insertion at the Urology Simulation Bootcamp course (USBC).

A low-cost abdominal wall model of 40 × 40 cm was created to simulate laparoscopic port placement. The model was made using different synthetic materials to represent layers (skin-vinyl sheet, subcutaneous fat-10 mm soft foam, anterior rectus sheath and muscle-floor mat, posterior rectus sheath-masking wall tape, peritoneum-sellotape). Each model was used by up to 3 trainees to practise laparoscopic port placement. The model was assessed for content validity by trainees and experts using a 5-point Likert scale.

In total, 88 trainees and 6 experts participated in the study. For all aspects of the synthetic abdominal wall, good (4) or very good (5) scores ranged from 52.7-69.2%, whereas very poor (1) rating ranged from 0 to 4.3%. There was no significant difference in responses for the content validity of the model between trainees and experts. There was a high intraclass correlation amongst responses from trainees (0.89) and experts (0.79). Approximately 76.3% of trainees and experts felt that the model is suitable for training.

This is the first validation study of a low-cost abdominal wall model for teaching laparoscopic port placement for trainees. Our study demonstrates that this synthetic model has high content validity and is useful for surgical training.