An educated guess - Distance estimation by surgeons.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Estimating distance is a common task in surgery, yet development of distance estimation ability receives little attention in surgical training. Although the Small bites versus large bites for closure of abdominal midline incisions (STITCH) trial reinforced the importance of suture spacing by demonstrating reduced incisional hernia incidence in placement of 5-mm fascial sutures over 1 cm, we hypothesize that neither trainee nor attending surgeons possess the ability to estimate these distances with accuracy.

Methods

We distributed a 4-question distance estimation exercise and a 6-question survey to resident and attending surgeons at a single academic medical center. The mean and the absolute error were compared using a t test.

Results

Most participa

SUBMITTER: Conway RG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8083008 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature