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Microsurgical skills improve after 1-day course

Ophthalmology. 2009;116(2):257-262.

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Ophthalmic microsurgical skills were improved after a 1-day simulation course, and the motion-based scoring system used to assess the improvement was deemed effective in one study.

Corneal suturing before and after the course for 14 ophthalmic surgery residents was analyzed by the Imperial College Surgical Assessment Device (ICSAD), which tracks motion, and by Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (OSATS) video footage, a widely used generic surgical skills assessment tool.

The residents' task was to place a 10-0 nylon suture into a model eye using an operating microscope under standardized conditions. Each of three skills parameters was statistically significantly improved: total path length (P = .001), time (P = .009) and hand movements (P = .012). Correlation between ICSAD and OSATS results was statistically significant (P < .001).

"These results demonstrate that a microsurgical skills course is effective at improving the surgical skill of resident ophthalmologists, at least in the short term," the study authors said, adding that a video-based modified OSATS scoring system is an effective tool for assessing corneal suturing.