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. 2021 May 1;21(1):250.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02692-x.

Comparison of suturing models: the effect on perception of basic surgical skills

Alejandro Rafael Gonzalez-Navarro #  1 , Alejandro Quiroga-Garza #  1   2 , Adriana Sharai Acosta-Luna  1 , Yolanda Salinas-Alvarez  1 , Javier Humberto Martinez-Garza  1 , Oscar de la Garza-Castro  1 , Jorge Gutierrez-de la O  1 , David de la Fuente-Villarreal  1 , Rodrigo Enrique Elizondo-Omaña  3 , Santos Guzman-Lopez  4
Affiliations

Comparison of suturing models: the effect on perception of basic surgical skills

Alejandro Rafael Gonzalez-Navarro et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: Acquisition of Basic Surgical Skills (BSS) are essential for medical students. The objective was to determine it's fidelity impact.

Methods: Using four suturing models (SM) (pigskin, sponge, commercial pad, and orange), SM-quality and student-SM interaction were evaluated. After a 1-h class, participants were divided into groups and randomly assigned exercises in SM in 15-min intervals. The experiment included completing three individual simple stitches and a 3-stitch continuous suture in each SM.

Results: Eighty-two medical students participated. Suturing quality was better in pigskin and sponge, which were also the preferred models (p < 0.001). Significant differences in quality between the insertion and exit point, and firmness of knots (p < 0.05) in both simple and continuous sutures, as well as between length and distance in continuous ones (p < 0.001) were identified.

Conclusions: Acquisition and quality of BSS are influenced by the intrinsic characteristics of SM. An adequate degree of resistance, consistency, and elasticity are necessary.

Keywords: Education; High-Fidelity models; Low-Fidelity models; Medical student; Medical student training; Surgical skills; Surgical training; Suturing; Suturing model.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Suture models used from each category. a plant-based (peeled orange); b animal-based (a 6 × 6 in. segment of 1–1.5 in. thick pork fat skin); c synthethic-based (a 6 × 6 in. square of 1.5 in. thick dry sponge); d commercial-based (a 5 × 5 in. square of 0.7 in. thick multilayer silicon-rubber pad produced by the University’s Biomedical Engineering Department that simulates muscle, subcutaneous, and skin layers)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Box and whiskers graph of task completion time in each suturing model. Statistical analysis performed with Kruskal-Wallis test for independent samples with post-hoc analysis. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Suturing model preference. Participants were asked to order suturing models from their favorite (1) to least favorite (4) after completing all tasks. Stacked graph. Student preference for each suturing model. Number 1 was considered the best model and number 4 considered the worst. The exact number of students is reported above each segment of the stacked bar. Chi-Square test reported statistical significance p < 0.001
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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