Abstract
Objective Many fellowship programs in maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) lack sufficient exposure
and training in chorionic villus sampling (CVS). We describe a novel training model
of transabdominal and transcervical CVS.
Methods A porcine heart simulated a 12-week human uterus with a cervical canal created at
the apex of the heart. A piglet was placed within a water-filled condom, which was
placed inside the “uterus.” A second water-filled condom simulated a maternal bladder.
Fresh human placenta was placed between the condom and uterine wall. A zipper-sealed
freezer bag with ultrasonic gel simulated an abdominal wall. Transabdominal ultrasound
was utilized with this model to perform CVS.
Results The design involved four MFM specialists and three fellows. Twenty-three faculty
MFM specialists and eight MFM fellows endorsed the fidelity of both models. One hundred
percent of attendees of a procedural workshop agreed that these models could be used
to teach proper technique to fellows and faculty.
Conclusion We report a novel training model for transabdominal and transcervical CVS to teach
proper technique in a nonclinical setting.
Keywords
chorionic villus sampling - simulation - education model - task trainer - fellow training
- procedure for karyotyping
