gms | German Medical Science

Objectives/Interrogation: Microsurgery is defined as the type of surgical operation performed with the assistance of microscope. It has been proven that training in microsurgical techniques can improve the abilities of the residents mostly, after the attendance of at least 8 weeks intense seminars, in such a way that it has affection even at macrosurgical skills.

Methods: At the Laboratory of Research of the Musculosceletal System a 3 - month training seminar in microsurgical techniques regarding the repair of arteries, veins and nerves is provided for 30 years continuously. The seminar includes 5 gradual stages of training in latex frames, rabbits and rats.

We performed a prospective study regarding the surgical abilities of participants during the years of 2017 and 2018, at the end of every training session. Also the research analyzed the correlation of success at every session to speciality, gender, year of residency and previous experience.

Results: During a period of two years 40 persons (30 men, 10 women) participated, 30 of whom were orthopedic residents with a mean age of 33 years old. With only two specialists taking the microsurgery seminar, the rest were residents at their fourth (15 residents, 37,5%), fifth (9 residents, 22,5%) and second (8 residents, 20%) year of residency, while other 6 residents (15%) cover the rest. Previous experience on microsurgery had only 3 participants (7,5%). There was significant relationship between gender and successful suturing and functionality of a small vein in rats(p value=0,042), as well as the year of residency in the total number of sutures performed in 15 minutes on a latex frame (p value=0,007).

Conclusions: The microsurgery seminar provides the participant surgeons with the ability to better understand the shape and structure of tissues, while gaining a gentle approach across them. It contributes in improving surgical skills, strengthening coordination between brain and hands, as well as sight on three dimensions. Lastly it increases concentration in very narrow surgical fields.