Innovation in surgical training: Simulating prosthetic heart valves and annuloplasty rings using pacifiers for cardiac surgery wet-labs in a resource limited setting

Authors

Sara Iqbal, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Waris Ahmad, Aga Khan UniversityFollow

Document Type

Commentary

Department

Cardiothoracic Surgery

Abstract

Conducting a hands-on cardiac wet-lab on valvular surgeries in a resource-limited setting is restricted by the lack of prosthetic heart valves and annuloplasty rings for developing cognitive and technical skills required to understand and protect the three-dimensional cardiac anatomy. In recent times, simulation is regarded as an effective tool in surgical education and has proven to improve the technical skills of trainees. The current short report presents a novel simulator to mimic heart valve replacement surgeries by using a pacifier as a prosthetic valve and annuloplasty ring. Considering resource-constraints in the local context, pacifier-based valve simulators can be usedful as they are cost-effective, readily available, easy to assemble, sturdy to use and have been remarkably helpful in teaching heart valve surgeries to residents and junior surgeons.

Publication (Name of Journal)

JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association

Recommended Citation

Iqbal, S., Ahmad, W. (2021). Innovation in surgical training: Simulating prosthetic heart valves and annuloplasty rings using pacifiers for cardiac surgery wet-labs in a resource limited setting. JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 71(1(Suppl 1)), S124-S126.
Available at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_mc_surg_cardiothoracic/180