Synthetic Simulator for Surgical Training in Tracheostomy and Open Airway Surgery.

OBJECTIVE(S): To create and validate a synthetic simulator for teaching tracheostomy and laryngotracheal reconstruction (LTR) using anterior costal cartilage and thyroid ala cartilage grafts.

METHODS: A late adolescent/adult neck and airway simulator was constructed based on CT scans from a cadaver and a live patient. Images were segmented to create three-dimensional printed molds from which anatomical parts were casted. To evaluate the simulator, expert otolaryngologists - head and neck surgeons performed tracheostomy and LTR using anterior costal cartilage and thyroid ala cartilage grafts on a live anesthetized porcine model (gold standard) followed by the synthetic simulator. They evaluated each model for face validity (realism and anatomical accuracy) and content validity (perceived effectiveness as a training tool) using a five-point Likert scale. For each expert, differences for each item on each simulator were compared using Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests with Sidak correction.

RESULTS: Nine expert faculty surgeons completed the study. Experts rated face and content validity of the synthetic simulator an overall median of 4 and 5, respectively. There was no difference in scores between the synthetic model and the live porcine model for any of the steps of any of the surgical procedures.

CONCLUSION: The synthetic simulator created for this study has high face and content validity for tracheostomy and LTR with anterior costal cartilage and thyroid ala cartilage grafts and was not found to be different than the live porcine model for these procedures.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 5 Laryngoscope, 131:E2378-E2386, 2021.