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Technical skills assessment during simulated cleft lip repair
Pegi Kaimi1, David M Fisher2, Branavan Yasabala3
1Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery : JPRAS
|February 19, 2025
Summary
A new cleft lip simulator and assessment tool effectively train surgeons. Repeated practice on the simulator improved surgical skills, demonstrating its value in surgical education.
Area of Science:
- Plastic Surgery
- Surgical Simulation
- Medical Education
Background:
- Cleft lip repair presents a significant surgical challenge with a steep learning curve.
- High-fidelity simulators offer a potential solution to enhance surgical training and reduce the learning curve.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of a novel high-fidelity cleft lip simulator.
- To assess a newly developed technical assessment tool for cleft lip repair.
Main Methods:
- Plastic surgery residents and fellows performed simulated cleft lip repairs.
- Procedures were video-recorded and evaluated by experienced surgeons using a new assessment scale and a global rating scale.
- The reliability of the assessment scores was determined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC).
Main Results:
- The developed cleft lip assessment scale demonstrated reliable interrater agreement (ICC > 0.70).
- Experienced surgeons significantly outperformed trainees in initial simulations.
- Trainees showed consistent performance improvement with repeated simulator use.
Conclusions:
- A reliable cleft lip assessment scale was developed for evaluating technical skill in simulated repairs.
- The high-fidelity cleft lip simulator effectively improved surgical performance through repeated practice.
