Efficacy evaluation of a high-precision simulator of posterior pharyngeal flap pharyngoplasty

To improve medical students' preclinical skills and enable them to quickly comprehend the procedure of posterior pharyngeal flap surgery, our teaching team developed a surgical simulator specifically for pharyngeal flap surgery.

Thirteen undergraduate students and 8 first-year residents trained from March to May 2023 participated in simulated surgical training. Initially, multimedia were used to explain and demonstrate to them relevant anatomy, surgical principles, and procedural steps. This was followed by independent simulated surgeries by the students, culminating in the completion of a questionnaire. Independent samples t test was used for statistical analysis.

Before the simulated surgery, the residents had a greater understanding of the surgical design compared with the undergraduate students. After the simulated surgery, the residents showed not only significantly greater levels of understanding of the surgical design but also increased familiarity with the surgical process and enhanced confidence in independent surgery compared with the undergraduate students. Both groups showed a notable increase in familiarity with the surgical process and confidence in performing surgery independently after the simulated surgery.

The surgical simulator demonstrates high clinical fidelity and provides tactile feedback that closely resembles reality. It significantly enhances the understanding and mastery of surgical techniques for young doctors, ultimately improving their surgical skills.