Microsurgical training: Is it adequate for the operating room?

Microsurgery training is an integral part of a surgical curriculum. However we questioned whether the duration of training improves the ability to perform microsurgical procedures. In this study, we evaluated whether residents and fellows who had completed microsurgical training were able to subsequently perform a simple end-to-end anastomosis of a vein and artery within 30 min. Seven residents with microsurgical training spanning from 1 week to 1-year fellowships performed femoral artery and vein anastomoses on Sprague-Dawley rats. Sixty-four percent of participants performed a patent arterial or venous anastomosis (projected 100%, p<0.001), 43% completed an artery and vein successfully, and 14% performed both within 30 min (p<0.001). Duration of previous training did not significantly affect performance and was not a predictive value for successfully performing microsurgery. The high rate of anastomotic failure is surprising. Performance evaluation may be indicated in order to perform microsurgery in a clinical setting.