Abstract
In recent decades, a number of simulation models for microsurgical training have been
published. The human placenta has received extensive validation in microneurosurgery
and is a useful instrument to facilitate learning in microvascular repair techniques
as an alternative to using live animals. This study uses a straightforward, step-by-step
procedure for instructing the creation of simulators with dynamic flow to characterize
the placental vascular tree and assess its relevance for plastic surgery departments.
Measurements of the placental vasculature and morphological characterization of 18
placentas were made. After the model was used in a basic microsurgery training laboratory
session, a survey was given to nine plastic surgery residents, two microsurgeons,
and one hand surgeon. In all divisions, venous diameters were larger than arterial
diameters, with minimum diameters of 0.8 and 0.6 mm, respectively. The majority of
the participants considered that the model faithfully reproduces a real microsurgical
scenario; the consistency of the vessels and their dissection are similar in in vivo
tissue. Furthermore, all the participants considered that this model could improve
their surgical technique and would propose it for microsurgical training. As some
of the model's disadvantages, an abundantly thick adventitia, a thin tunica media,
and higher adherence to the underlying tissue were identified. The color-perfused
placenta is an excellent tool for microsurgical training in plastic surgery. It can
faithfully reproduce a microsurgical scenario, offering an abundance of vasculature
with varying sizes similar to tissue in vivo, enhancing technical proficiency, and
lowering patient error.
Keywords
microsurgery - plastic surgery - simulated training - placenta - anatomical models
