Enhancing Surgical Training for Kidney Transplantation: A Protocol on the Effectiveness of 3D Models (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Kidney Transplantations (KTs) are a complicated surgical procedure with significant technical skill required. Traditional training methods for surgical residents, such as cadaver and porcine models, have limitations including high costs, low reusability, and ethical concerns. 3D surgical training models have increasingly been used to supplement the surgical training of medical students. This study introduces a protocol to test such a training model for kidney transplantations, focusing on the capacity of the model to enhance surgical skills, confidence, and understanding among surgical residents. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to assess the impact of using 3D surgical training models on medical residents' competency in kidney transplantation through self-reported ratings, memory-based questions, and performance analysis. Our population of interest is first year surgical residents currently in residency rotations within the University of Florida (UF) Division of Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery, which is a division of UF Health Shands Emergency Hospital. For the purposes of our study, we will exclude surgical residents at UF Health Shands Hospital with previous kidney transplantation training. METHODS First year surgical residents at the University of Florida will be randomly assigned to either an experimental group using 3D model trainers or a control group with no training. Both groups will complete pre and post-training assessments, including Likert Scale-based confidence surveys, procedural step ordering, and anatomical structure labeling. Paired sample t-tests (P = .05) and Root Mean Square tests will be used for data analysis. RESULTS As of July 2024, our 3D model has been completed, and we have received an IRB exempt study status. CONCLUSIONS This study presents a protocol for testing a 3D box model trainer for kidney transplants. Results from this protocol could support the incorporation of 3D box model trainers into surgical training programs, highlighting their potential to improve technical skills, confidence, and understanding of laparoscopic cholecystectomies among surgical residents.