Using Soft-Preserved Body Donors to Improve the Anatomy Learning Experience for Orthopedic Residents

Working with deceased human bodies to advance anatomical knowledge as part of orthopedic residency programs is critical to improving clinical skills. Formalin-preserved donors are routinely used but don't retain similar features to patients. This study compares Imperial College London- soft preserved (ICL-SP) donors to standard formalin-preserved donors in teaching anatomy to orthopedic residents.

Orthopedic Residents were invited to fill out a dissection survey after they had completed different dissections over a 6-week period. At the end of the study, residents and observers then comprehensively analyzed the experience between the donors. The surveys used a Likert scale format from 1 to 5. These survey questions include assessments of tendons, muscles, ligaments, nerves, vessel quality, fascia, ease of dissection, similarity to in vivo tissue, finding specific structures, and more. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the resident opinion/experience differences between the 2 types of donors.

A total of 24 residents participated in the dissector surveys, and 30 residents completed the observer surveys. In completing the Likert scale questionnaires, 88.3% of residents in the dissections and 86% of residents in the observer surveys stated that they favored learning from ICL-SP donors. When residents were asked to evaluate the differences in the donor preservations, residents favored ICL-SP donors. Orthopedic Residents ultimately agreed that dissecting and identifying structures is more effective when working with ICL-SP. The results suggest that orthopedic residency programs should consider preservation techniques when teaching their students anatomy from human donors.

ICL-SP donors can encourage residents to transfer the skills learned to their clinical experiences and improve patient care.