Assessing the Effectiveness of 3D Printing as a potential future teaching method for Surgical Anatomy

Authors- Hayyan Khan, Nafisa Zilani

Affiliations- GKT School of Medical Education Email of Corresponding

Introduction

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has emerged as a promising field with the capability to revolutionize operative experience and surgical training programs (Langridge et al., 2017). However, the limited exposure of medical students and junior doctors to this technology hampers their ability to effectively utilize it in future clinical practice and surgical training.

To address this issue, a study was conducted with the aim of assessing the pre-existing knowledge among medical professionals regarding the significance of 3D printing in surgery. Subsequently, a follow-up pilot study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a surgical 3D printing workshop as an intervention to enhance their understanding of 3D printing as a surgical anatomy teaching tool and its potential applications in surgery.

Aim

To assess the effectiveness of 3D printing as a potential future teaching method for surgical anatomy.

Methods

84 attendees completed pre- and post-event questionnaires using a 5-point Likert scale. The event itself included a host of technology-based surgical workshops including 3D printing. After the conference, the attendees participated in several technology-based surgical workshops. The scores were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk test to assess normality, and a one-tailed test was used to assess statistical significance.

Author- hayyan.khan@kcl.ac.uk

Results

Attendees demonstrated an increase in understanding of the significance of 3D printing in anatomy and its potential applications for surgery (p= 0.00000078). However, although there was a mean increase in agreement with the use of 3D printing as a teaching method for surgical anatomy after the event, it was not significant (p=0.11) [p < 0.05 = significant].

Discussion

The results of the study have shown valuable information about the importance of 3D printing in the context of surgical anatomy. The attendees had shown, post-workshop, a greater understanding of the use of 3D printing in anatomy and the workshop had shown a greater potential application for its use in surgery.

This highlights the value of 3D printing in visualisation, in a new matter which will not use cadaveric dissections for example. Greater visualisation of anatomical structures will lead to greater understanding of these anatomical bodies and their interactions; and this will enhance surgical quality and effectiveness, eventually leading to enhanced patient outcomes.

While attendees recognised the advantages of technology-based teaching methods, there was no significant increase in agreement regarding their overall effectiveness. This discrepancy may indicate that reservations may exist about the comprehensive impact of these methods on surgical education. Concerns may include reliability, limitations in simulating complex scenarios, and the need for further research.

Conclusion

To conclude, this event, which involved a surgical 3D printing workshop, was successful in increasing attendees' understanding of the significance of 3D printing in anatomy and its potential applications for surgery. However, there was not a significant increase in agreement regarding the use of 3D printing as a teaching method for surgical anatomy after the event. This suggests that further efforts may be necessary to convince attendees of the effectiveness of 3D printing as a teaching tool in surgical anatomy.

References

Langridge, B., Momin, S., Coumbe, B., Woin, E., Griffin, M., & Butler, P. (2018). Systematic Review of the Use of 3Dimensional Printing in Surgical Teaching and Assessment. Journal of Surgical Education, 75(1), 209-221.

Acknowledgements

We extend our thanks to all the members of FSA Conference Committee as well as volunteers for their help in making this conference successful.

Special thanks to Professor Kawal Rhode for facilitating this workshop