A "Noodle and Thread": A Low-Fidelity Simulation of Blood Vessel Ligation Using Common Household Items

Simulation is becoming increasingly essential to surgical education, and many skills are learned in simulation-based training laboratories before being used in the operating room (OR). The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the need for alternative methods of learning important surgical techniques, particularly in resource-limited areas. One of the most important early skills for trainees is surgical knot tying without exerting excessive upward traction, such as that used to ligate blood vessels prior to division and cautery.

To help solve this problem, we have developed a model of blood vessel ligation and surgical knot tying using common, inexpensive household items including noodles, adhesive tape, and thread.

The proposed model adequately simulated blood vessel ligation and displayed a wide spectrum of difficulty levels based on the materials chosen.

Surgical knot tying can be practiced in private settings with the proposed model of blood vessel ligation. The model is low cost, and its difficulty can be adjusted by changing noodle morphology.