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Microsurgery courses vs continuous microsurgery laboratory training: an Italian experience

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European Journal of Plastic Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Microsurgical techniques are an important part of clinical and experimental research. In this paper, we present our survey of Italian microsurgery training and our experience of the importance of a free access microsurgical laboratory.

Methods

A cross-sectional observational study was performed by administering a questionnaire regarding the current situation about microsurgical training in Italian Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery residency programs. A case–control study was performed on 12 residents divided into four groups of attendance to the microlaboratory.

Results

Two hundred and seventy-six trainees replied to the questionnaire, representing 94.7% of residents enrolled in the Italian Society of Plastic, Reconstructive-Regenerative and Aesthetic Surgery (SICPRE). Only 25% of Italian residency locations own an environment dedicated to microsurgical training. All residents agreed to the importance of a free access microsurgical laboratory in their resident program. We verify a higher improvement in microsurgical anastomosis in resident who performed a more assiduous attendance to microsurgical laboratory.

Conclusions

Microsurgical skills are fundamental in becoming a complete plastic surgery specialist. It is important to invest in a microsurgical training in all residency programs. We consider that our experience could be useful to spur other residency institutions to invest in microsurgical training and maybe to create a microsurgical training network.

Level of evidence: Not gradable

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Funding

The authors have nothing to disclose. No funding was received for this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plastic Surgery, Policlinico Di Modena University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Largo del Pozzo 71, 41125, Modena, Italy

    Federico De Maria, Valentina Pinto, Massimo Pinelli, Filippo Taccioli, Claudio Gio Francesco Blessent, Caterina Marra, Gian Piero Mantovani & Giorgio De Santis

Authors
  1. Federico De Maria
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  2. Valentina Pinto
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  3. Massimo Pinelli
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  4. Filippo Taccioli
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  5. Claudio Gio Francesco Blessent
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  6. Caterina Marra
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  7. Gian Piero Mantovani
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  8. Giorgio De Santis
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Correspondence to Federico De Maria.

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Ethics approval

No ethical approval was necessary due to the observational nature of the study. This article does not contain any clinical studies involving human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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The participants consented to participate and share their data.

Competing interests

Federico De Maria, Valentina Pinto, Massimo Pinelli, Filippo Taccioli, Claudio Gio Francesco Blessent, Caterina Marra, Gian Piero Mantovani, and Giorgio De Santis declare no conflict of interest.

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Federico De Maria and Valentina Pinto contributed equally to the study and should be accounted as first authors.

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De Maria, F., Pinto, V., Pinelli, M. et al. Microsurgery courses vs continuous microsurgery laboratory training: an Italian experience. Eur J Plast Surg 46, 1383–1388 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00238-023-02132-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00238-023-02132-7

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