*Purpose: Surgical skills education in transplant surgery is challenging as center-specific outcomes are scrutinized and trainees’ exposure to the sub-specialty is decreasing. Simulation could overcome these challenges, but is underdeveloped in transplant surgery. Trainees are most involved in kidney transplant surgery. A time-sensitive step impacting outcomes is performance of the vascular anastomoses. We built a low-cost kidney transplant surgery simulator for trainees to learn and practice the vascular anastomoses step and surveyed its educational utility.

*Methods: We searched for inexpensive materials to replicate the iliac fossa, vasculature, and kidney allograft. Trainees (n=9) with kidney transplant surgery experience answered a 0-100 visual analog scale questionnaire about the educational utility of the simulator.

*Results: A 35.9 x 19.4 x 12.4 cm plastic box was used to mimic the iliac fossa. Plastic hooks attached to the box’s sidewall held under tension Penrose drains of 1.27 cm and 0.64 cm diameter to replicate the external iliac vein and artery respectively. A kidney-shaped stress ball was modified with 1.27 x 4 cm, 0.64 x 4 cm, and 0.64 x 15 cm Penrose drains anteriorly, posteriorly, and inferiorly to replicate a kidney allograft with its renal vein, artery and ureter respectively (Figure 1). Total cost of the simulator was $20. Two trainees work together on the simulator to perform and assist in the vascular anastomoses including clamping, venotomy, arteriotomy, suturing, following, and retraction (Figure 2). Surveyed trainees with kidney transplant surgery experience gave a mean score of 95/100 when asked about the utility of the simulator to improve suturing speed, and a mean score of 90/100 on its utility to learn the operative steps. All surveyed trainees wished that they had access to the simulator prior to their first kidney transplant surgery and recommended its inclusion in their educational curriculum.

*Conclusions: We created a low-cost kidney transplant surgery simulator that can be incorporated in a transplant educational curriculum for trainees to learn and practice the time-sensitive vascular anastomoses without impacting patient outcomes.

« Back to 2020 American Transplant Congress