Resources to learn suturing

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knock0ut

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I have an ENT rotation coming up, and it has been a while since I've sutured. Have a practice kit. What online resources have y'all found are good for briefly teaching high yield suture techniques?

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Youtube has some great videos on various suturing techniques.
 
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Simvivo on youtube has some good videos.
 
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Youtube can show you the general principles. I'd have to check, but the suture companies (e.g. ethicon) sometimes give away suture instruction kits to med students.

In all honesty practice, practice, practice, and practice are the things you need most. When you are on your surgery rotation, ask the techs or residents if you can have spare suture. There are disposable needle drivers and forceps in kits for things like central lines, art lines, chest tubes, ventriculostomies, and laceration repairs. While taking contaminated needle drivers after a procedure is not advised, they can be cleaned and reused for your own purposes. I was fortunate enough to make friends with the techs and they gave me a pair of the real-deal gold handled needle drivers to practice with.

Once you amass your instruments and suture, you really can suture just about anything. A good start are the blue towels from the OR. Roll it up and suture the seam together. Another option is the rubber pad from the kit the company would send you. People say classically sewing an orange peel, but I never found that useful. I would buy chicken thighs or pigs feet from the butcher. They tend to be cheap, and somewhat of a semblance of normal tissue.

Practice, practice practice. The four most important throws for a medical student: single, interrupted; inverted, single, interrupted; running, baseball/whip stitch; running subcuticular. Find these on youtube to learn the nuances. Then practice. It really comes down to fine motor control of your fingers, palm, and wrist. We can tell if you haven't practiced.

Finally, do not neglect your knot tying. EVERY student over estimates their knot tying ability. Every student throws air knots. Just like suturing, it comes down to understanding the mechanics, , fine motor control, a feel for the strength of the tissue and suture, and practice.

Did I mention practice?
 
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post above me is spot on. Get some needle drivers and just fiddle with them while you study opening and closing without your fingers shoved in the holes. Get your two-hand tie down like it's tying your shoes, practice with both big strings to make sure your knots are right then practice with gloves and suture ties. Attendings are usually happy to see a good two-hand tie from a student.
 
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I have an ENT rotation coming up, and it has been a while since I've sutured. Have a practice kit. What online resources have y'all found are good for briefly teaching high yield suture techniques?
Are you looking for a practice kit or video tutorial?
 
Nothing is the same as human tissue. That shouldn’t stop you from getting your ties and motions down pat. There is an excellent suturing video on YouTube from Yale I believe.

As stated previously, Practice. Practice. Practice.

Edit- video is from Duke.
 
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Definitely youtube! And single handed surgeons knots were post important to know on all of my surgery rotations (although I did not do ENT, which may need finer knots than a surgeons knot)
 
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