Author(s)

Brandon Goodwin, Richard Wagner

Department of Dermatology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.

Background: Traditional models for teaching surgical principles focus primarily on the apprenticeship theory; however there has been a trend in surgical education to certifying competency in a simulation environment prior to working with patients. Many surgical models emphasize learning the technical and manual dexterity skills necessary to be a surgeon, yet few focus on obtaining the theoretical and abstract skills needed for planning complex cutaneous surgical repairs with flaps and grafts. We developed and evaluated a novel surgical flaps and grafts workshop for residents through the Department of Dermatology. Methods: Participants received a 60 minute PowerPoint lecture focusing on the basic principles of cutaneous repair with flaps and grafts, with examples and explanation of each of the four main types of flaps and grafts. The participants then received nine photocopies of Mohs micrographic surgery defects with instructions to design three repairs, focusing on functional and aesthetic outcome. Hypothetical and actual repair designs were then discussed in an open forum format. Anonymous surveys administered to 11 dermatology residents assessed their knowledge level, confidence level, and likelihood of using flaps and grafts pre- and post-workshop using Likert scales. Overall experience was also assessed. A paired sample Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was used for analysis, since the data was non-parametrically distributed. Results: There was a statistically significant increase in confidence performing flaps post workshop (p = 0.0469). There was also an increase in knowledge of flaps and grafts, confidence in planning flaps and grafts, and confidence in performing grafts post workshop, but these findings did not reach statistical significance. The workshop had no effect on expected future use of flaps and grafts. Conclusions: The surgical workshop is a novel simulation teaching tool for learning basic principles and design of flaps and grafts in cutaneous surgery.

“Dermatology”, Grafts”, “Flaps, “Surgical Skills Workshop”, “Resident Education”

Goodwin, B. and Wagner, R. (2015) Surgical Flap and Graft Reconstruction Workshop for Dermatology Residents. Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications, 5, 86-93. doi: 10.4236/jcdsa.2015.52011.