• Quality of final vascular anastomosis based on validated scale
  

• Global rating of operative skill based on validated scale (final anastomosis)
  
• Time taken to complete final anastomosis
  
• Time taken to complete initial and final anastomosis (experimental group only)
  
• Anastomotic leakage for final anastomosis
  
• Anastomotic patency for final anastomosis
  

For many years, surgical training has been considered an apprenticeship, where the training experiences of residents, have been in real operative settings on living patients. We propose a study to demonstrate that – a low-fidelity simulation of an aorta-proximal vein graft anastomosis as in heart bypass surgery, using anatomical replicates (a special hydrogel polymer with properties similar to human vascular tissue) – is an effective, low-cost simulator for learning this surgical skill, and will provide the trainee with the ability to perform a better anastomosis in a shorter period of time.

Hypothesis: Practicing an aorto-saphenous vein anastomosis on a low-fidelity surgical simulator will advance the trainees’ learning curve. This will allow trainees to produce a higher quality anastomosis in a shorter period of time, than a group that only learns by watching a video and will lead to enhanced patient safety.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 1st year surgical resident at The University of Western Ontario
• Anastomosis naive – the subject must not have performed a human vascular anastomosis in the past (it is acceptable if they have observed one being performed in the past)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Completed a human vascular anastomosis as the primary operator/surgeon in the past