Efficacy of strabismus surgery training models: comparing the enucleated pig eye and anesthetized porcine model

Teaching strabismus surgery to residents is a challenging task, posing technical and logistical problems. Porcine models are used for resident training in other surgical specialties, and imitate the tissue movement, tactile feedback, and complications that can arise during surgery. This study compares teaching strabismus surgery using a live anesthetized porcine model with a previously established, widely accessible biologic model (enucleating pig eyes and bacon for extraocular muscles). 

The number of strabismus surgeries observed varied by as many as ten between residents in the same stage of training. Upper-level residents performed significantly better on the pretest than lower-level residents (r=0.84, p=0.000066). Residents who performed better on the pretest rated the workshop more highly (r=0.21, p=2.0 x 10^-10). Residents who had observed more strabismus surgeries rated the workshop more highly (r=0.129, p=4.6 x 10^-8).