Training Residents to Perform Tracheotomy Using a Live Swine Model

A tracheotomy is a basic operation for the otorhinolaryngologist. According to reports from the United States and from our experience, there has been a steady decline in the number of tracheostomies performed by young resident doctors. Due to concerns for inadequate training of young residents, we developed a tracheotomy course consisting of a lecture, a live animal model, and questionnaires. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of this training model. Twelve volunteer resident doctors joined the training course and, following a lecture by a senior surgeon, practiced tracheostomies with a 4-month-old female swine weighing 32 kg. We recorded the procedure time, blood loss, and complications. The doctors' procedural competence was recorded using questionnaires before and after the training. All operations were completed within 30 minutes, and the blood loss was less than 5 ml. There were no serious acute complications. After the training, young residents had improved scores on surgical landmark recognition, overall procedural competence, confidence in performing the procedure, and understanding of the surgical procedures and equipment (P < .05). Our findings reveal that an animal model-based tracheotomy course is an effective training model for young resident doctors.