Assembling Facial Muscles in a Skull Model for Plastic Surgery Trainees

The aim of this study was to report the results of a training workshop on assembling facial muscles in a skull model, with a focus on the depth and intermingling of the muscles.A commercially available model with facial and masticatory muscles was used and this has 33 muscle pieces removable and attachable by magnets. Seven participants were recruited for workshop. At first stage, they were asked to assemble 33 detached pieces. Atlases of facial anatomy and Google searches except scientific articles were available. The time required to complete the assembly was measured. At second stage, a review article on facial anatomy was provided and they were again asked to assemble the pieces and the time was also measured. They were asked to rate their satisfaction with the outcomes on a Likert scale.In the second stage, the time was significantly shortened (from 66.9 ± 22.2 to 27.9 ± 15.0 minutes, P  = 0.002). The reasons for this improvement we think are: first, repeating an activity itself shortens time, and second, reading a review article about the anatomy of the face, especially the depth and relationship of each muscle, provided participants with deeper anatomical knowledge. Upon finishing the 2-stage workshop, the participants' knowledge of the name (P = 0.019), origin and insertion of each muscle (P = 0.017), as well as the relationships of all neighboring muscles (including their depth) increased significantly (P = 0.002).This model would be useful for anatomy classes at the undergraduate level in medical schools or developing a station as part of the objective structured clinical examination for board certification.