2006 Volume 59 Issue 2 Pages 122-125
A dog abdominal surrogate model for instructional exercises was evaluated to determine acceptance, by cooperation of two hundred and fifty-one fourth-year veterinary students at four universities in Japan. After practicing a celiotomy and intestinal anastomosis using the model, students' responses to a questionnaire were analyzed. Most students thought that the model was effective for acquiring basic surgical skills (99.2%) and necessary prior to surgical practice using live animals (96.8%). The major advantages of practical training using the model were effectiveness for acquiring basic surgical skills (40.8%), easy understanding of the structure (38.4%), reducing the need for live animals (21.6%) and multiple usage (14.8%). Meanwhile, more than half students (57.6%) suggested potential improvements of the materials and design of the model. The surrogate model used in the present study was well received by the students. We suggest that the model would be an acceptable alternative to live animals for certain basic surgical procedures.
