ORIGINAL ARTICLE  MISCELLANEOUS Free access

International Angiology 2022 April;41(2):177-82

DOI: 10.23736/S0392-9590.22.04808-8

Copyright © 2022 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Open vascular surgery training in the endovascular era: 5-year experience with cadaver laboratory

Luca GARRIBOLI ¹, Emiliano CHISCI ², Michele ANTONELLO ³, Gianbattista PARLANI ⁴, Efrem CIVILINI ⁵, Gabriele MARITATI ⁶, Nicola TROISI ⁷ ✉

¹ Unit of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, “IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria” Negrar, Verona, Italy; ² Unit of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, San Giovanni di Dio Hospital, Florence, Italy; ³ Unit of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy; ⁴ Unit of Vascular Surgery, S. Maria della Misericordia Hospital, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy; ⁵ Unit of Vascular Surgery, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy; ⁶ Unit of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Perrino Hospital, Brindisi, Italy; ⁷ Unit of Vascular Surgery, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

BACKGROUND: Vascular cadaver laboratory (CAD LAB) courses included vascular exposure techniques and simulations of open procedures. Aim of the study was to demonstrate the benefit of cadaver laboratory (CAD LAB) courses to improve trainees’ experience in open surgical vascular procedures.
METHODS: Between 2014 and 2020, 162 vascular surgeons or medical trainees (mean age 28 years) participated in vascular CAD LAB courses in Italy and France. Outcomes were measured using the Linkert survey, performed pre- and postcourse to evaluate self-efficacy/confidence, surgical experience, and resident perception of the course with a range score from 0 to 5 for each point. Anatomical knowledge improvement was measured using a questionnaire with multiple answers pre- and postcourse. The course was considered to have yielded a positive result if the postcourse Linkert Survey Score increased by ≥2 points, or in the case of an increase of at least 30% above the baseline value of the multiple questionnaires.
RESULTS: Postcourse questionnaires were positive for all outcomes evaluated. Participants’ perception of the usefulness of the CAD LAB evaluation was 4.8 out of 5. For the vascular CAD LAB, participant anatomical knowledge improved overall from an average of 55% to 93% (P<0.001), and self-efficacy/confidence improved from 2.3 to 4.5 out of 5 (P<0.001). Regarding the different operative procedures, the greatest self-efficacy/confidence improvement was recorded in carotid endarterectomy and aortic procedures (+50% and +66% respectively; P<0.001). The city location (Italy vs. France) did not affect the results.
CONCLUSIONS: CAD LAB courses were shown to be effective in increasing participants’ self-efficacy, confidence, and anatomical knowledge in open vascular surgical procedures.

KEY WORDS: Education; Cadaver; Laboratories