Feasibility and practicality of a novel teaching aid for microvascular anastomosis simulation training in neurosurgery generated by 3D printing.
Research article published in Frontiers in surgery (2025)
Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study aimed to develop a novel teaching aid for microvascular anastomosis training in neurosurgery using 3D printing technology based on CT and MRI imaging data, and to evaluate its effectiveness and practicality. METHODS: Based on CT or MRI imaging data, a 3D model integrating micro-vessels, skull, and brain tissue was fabricated and connected to a peristaltic pump and a pipeline system to create a teaching aid for microvascular anastomosis simulation training. Twenty senior medical students were recruited and divided into two groups: a control group, which trained using traditional soft rubber tubes, and an observation group, which trained using the 3D-printed teaching aid. Following the training, participants from both groups performed chicken wing artery anastomosis. The training outcomes, including the patency rate of vascular anastomosis, the time required to complete the anastomosis, and the trainees' surgical performance, were evaluated. Additionally, six experienced neurosurgeons were recruited to teach the course using both teaching aids for two hours each. They were then surveyed via a questionnaire to assess and rate the effectiveness of the teaching aids. RESULTS: The observation group demonstrated a significantly higher patency rate of vascular anastomosis, a shorter time to complete the anastomosis, and higher scores for surgical proficiency and procedural standardization compared to the control group (all P < 0.001). Additionally, the neurosurgeons provided positive evaluations of the novel 3D-printed teaching aid, awarding high scores for its practicality, scientific rigor, and overall effectiveness. CONCLUSION: The novel 3D-printed teaching aid serves as an effective tool for microvascular anastomosis training in neurosurgery, offering significant advantages such as enhanced training effectiveness, high-fidelity simulation, cost efficiency, and customization capabilities.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Summary
Feasibility and practicality of a novel teaching aid for microvascular anastomosis simulation training in neurosurgery generated by 3D printing.
Why This Matters for Hirudotherapy
This study developed a 3D-printed teaching aid (a CT/MRI-based model integrating micro-vessels, skull, and brain tissue connected to a peristaltic pump) for microvascular anastomosis simulation training in neurosurgery, and compared it against traditional soft rubber tubes in twenty senior medical students; the abstract reports the 3D-printed group achieved a significantly higher anastomosis patency rate, shorter completion time, and higher proficiency scores (all P < 0.001), with positive ratings from six neurosurgeons. The connection to hirudotherapy is tangential and should be stated plainly: this is a surgical-education methods paper about anastomosis training, and medicinal leeches are used clinically to relieve venous congestion in microsurgical flaps and replants where such anastomoses are performed, so the link is to the microsurgical setting, not to leech biology or the leech secretome. As a small single-center comparison of a training device (not a patient outcome trial), its findings speak to teaching effectiveness only and carry no implications for leech therapy efficacy.
Citation
Feasibility and practicality of a novel teaching aid for microvascular anastomosis simulation training in neurosurgery generated by 3D printing.
Shi et al. · Frontiers in surgery, 2025
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