Ophthalmic surgery is a beautiful, elegant and delicate way to improve a patient’s vision and quality of life.
You have four years to learn these skills, but before you operate on real human eyes, it’s wise to start out practicing in the wet lab. To get the most out of your wet lab practice, try these four high-yield tips.
1. Carve out time in your busy schedule.
Residency is busy. But you’ll only utilize the wet lab if you are mindful to block off a little downtime to practice surgical skills on a regular basis. Don’t stress about hours of suture practice; even 30 minutes of phaco or corneal wound creation can go a long way to developing muscle memory, comfort with tissue manipulation and familiarity with the instruments.
2. Get to know pig eyes, plastics eyes and virtual reality.
We are lucky to be surrounded by surgical tools to practice with. Pig eyes can provide realistic corneal and lens tissue to operate on, and many have retinal detachments to buckle! Additionally, a few companies create realistic fake eye models on which to practice various ocular techniques.
Lastly, many residency programs also have virtual reality surgery simulators for high-yield practice. The Eyesi, for example, is programmed with a training curriculum aimed at minimizing tremor, improving efficiency and avoiding tissue damage.
3. Find a surgical mentor to show you the ropes.
You don’t always have to practice alone. Whether you’re working on a specific skill or perfecting a new technique, reach out to a more senior resident, fellow or attending to help guide you. They will be ready and willing to lend a helping hand. And they may actually be eager to provide specific tips and tricks in the wet lab to help you improve your surgical skills.
4. Practice surgical techniques with the attending you plan to operate with.
So, you’re about to operate with one of the main cataract surgical teachers at your program in the coming weeks? Instead of getting nervous, ask them for their guidance in the wet lab. Each attending you operate with in residency will have unique approaches to surgery, and having them show you their particular quirks outside the OR can help them gain confidence in your skills.
Showing the attending how motivated you are to master surgical skills can also likely increase the likelihood that a few steps of the surgery will be handed over to you during real patient cases.
Wet labs are a safe and effective way to hone your surgical technique before you start improving the vision of real patients. Making the most of the tools available to you outside the OR can maximize your surgical skills for when it’s your turn to take the reins during surgery. Besides, at least you will have complete control of the wet lab’s soundtrack!
* * *
Grayson W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, is an instructor in ophthalmology and associate director of medical student education at Harvard Medical School. He joined the
YO Info editorial board in 2022.