Surgery simulator a risk-free trainer

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX South Island correspondent



Perfecting surgery techniques usually takes hundreds of operations and hours of work, with the added cost of a supervising surgeon watching every minute manoeuvre.

But a surgery simulator developed by an Auckland scientist and orthopaedic doctor may soon have junior surgeons repairing hip fractures in the tea room between operations.

Dr Phil Blyth designed the simulator after talking to orthopaedic surgeons about their training needs. He will complete his PhD on the validity of the system as an instruction tool.

On show at this week's Apec Science Ministers' conference in Christchurch, the simulator has five different operations - although more can be added - which are variations on hip fracture procedures.

It is a common operation - at least one is done every day at Auckland Hospital and 3000 a year around the country. As the population ages, Dr Blyth believes, the number will increase dramatically.

The simulator gives a 360-degree view of a patient lying in one of Auckland Hospital's operating theatres.

Using the mouse, the "surgeon" has to take an x-ray of the fracture, make an incision, drill a hole some 60mm to 80mm through the hip bone and fit a screw to hold the fracture together.

A plate attached to the screw must also be secured with smaller screws drilled into the bone.

The simulator times the procedure in "real time", so requesting an x-ray to check the angle or length of the hole drilled into the bone would add at least 30 seconds to the operation, although it is available at the click of the mouse during the simulation.

In a real theatre a practiced surgeon would complete the operation in under 15 minutes.

After the simulated procedure, the "surgeon" is graded on the time it took and the success of the operation.

Simulated surgery is not a new concept, but Dr Blyth hopes his program will eventually be widely accessed by surgeons on any available computer.

"So ideally you could do a run-through before the real operation or in the tea room.

"It's not going to mean supervision of operations will completely stop, but it will be an additional way to brush up on the technique, experiment and be able to correct mistakes over and over."