| dc.description.abstract | A key situation to be solved during training in veterinary laparoscopic surgery is the lack of suitable programs for the voluntary acquisition of skills by the apprentices, that include deliberate practice, allowing the final goal of acquisition skills in a safe and controlled environment, before working directly in the patient’s surgery. In this context, the simulation devices are at the top of choices for the acquisition of basic and advanced laparoscopic surgery skills, that prepares the apprentice for its better performance “hands-on” in the surgery room. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the acquisition of laparoscopy surgery skills, through an advance program for training laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy in dogs using a non-animated simulator. The apprentices (n = 5) with no previous experience in laparoscopic surgery, were evaluated using the Global Objective Advanced Laparoscopic Skills (GOALS) scale, as a qualitative measurement of their surgical skills in laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy before and after performing the training curriculum. The GOALS score of the apprentices were compared to the GOALS score of three veterinary surgeons trained in laparoscopic surgery, and the score were assigned by two independent experts in laparoscopic surgery. The data was evaluated by non-parametric statistics, using the Student t- Test. Comparison of data on time expended by the apprentices between the initial and the final time of the experiments, were evaluated by one-way ANOVA. The results showed that the time required for performing the steps of the laparoscopic procedure and the GOALS score, significantly improved after the training period in the apprentice. As expected the corresponding values were significantly better in the experts compared to the apprentices. Data from the quantitative analysis that were captured by the use of the iGlove, showed a statistically significant increase in the apprentice’s surgical abilities after finishing the training curriculum, including the overall time of the procedure, angularity and Suddenness of movements, compared to the values of time zero (before training). The quantitative values of expert were statistically significant better compared to the apprentices before and after training (P<0.01). These results suggest that the training curriculum and the simulation devised used, were appropriate for the acquisition of laparoscopic skills for performing ovariohysterectomy in dogs. | |
