RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this communication is to provide an evolutionary description of an attempt to replicate the success of the Rampahl Cardiac Simulator using perfused abdominal organ blocks the way that the Rampahl Simulator uses ex vivo porcine hearts. DESIGN: This descriptive paper makes no attempt to prove the effectiveness of the described educational tool, but rather, outlines the successes and failures in development. The proven value of a perfused organ teaching tool, as the Rampahl Simulator, suggests that others can build upon the work described in this paper so that, in the future, perfused abdominal organs will be available to students of general surgery as a routine part of their pre-operative preparation. SETTING: The Animal Resource Facility of the University of Utah, under the oversight of the University Institutional Animal Use and Care Committee (IACUC), provided the animals, operating suites and technical support. PARTICIPANTS: During each development phase, General Surgery Residents and Medical Students from all levels participated. In addition, operating room staff with an interest in either medical school or perfusion were invited to participate. RESULTS: The efforts described in this paper eventually resulted in a reliable teaching tool for abdominal procedures in that viability of the porcine abdominal organs for up to three hours after euthanasia was regularly achieved. CONCLUSIONS: General Surgery Teaching Programs of a size similar to the University of Utah may have access to the resources necessary to replicate this teaching tool in a cost-effective manner. However smaller teaching programs, such as those without a research facility, may not be able to adapt the procedures described in this paper.