Introduction
This model gives you the foundations you need for carrying out precise microsurgical work. You will be able to apply the skills acquired here in a wide variety of situations and avert numerous difficulties as you progress through the learning process. Since proper preparation prevents potential problems, we will treat this model extensively in this module, starting with essentials and working up to sophisticated, time and suture-saving techniques.
If you realize that you are making a mistake of any kind, stop. Correct the mistake, and only then continue. Be patient with yourself and take the time you need to achieve a good result; this will most certainly pay off later on. If you are left-handed, you can mirror the video using a video player with a mirror function.
Minimum requirements for efficient learning
Before you start working ask yourself:
Are you calm and concentrated?
Are you sitting correctly?
Is your microscope well adjusted?
Is your table set up correctly?
Are your hands well supported on the table?
Table setup and materials
We will be using a board with a cork surface as our work field. On one side of the board we keep a macrosurgical scalpel, scissors, forceps and some pins. On the other side of the board, well apart from these coarse instruments, we keep our mfine microsurgical forceps, vessel dilator, straight and curved scissors and needle holder. The microsurgical materials include an 8.0 microsurgical suture. The thread has been shortened to less than 15 cm to make the exercises easier to perform. The yoghurt cup lid on the rat board is placed inside the latex glove. The glove is then stretched out evenly using the pins. A straight line is cut into the latex at approximately the center of the operating field.