article · OTO Open
Specialist ear surgery requires precise anatomical training, yet many otolaryngologists in sub-Saharan Africa face severe barriers including limited access to equipment, training, and learning opportunities. A study conducted at an academic medical centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, assessed the feasibility of a local temporal bone dissection laboratory established to support regional surgical skills. Across six training sessions held over an eleven-month period, 47 practicing attendees were surveyed before the course, immediately afterwards, and at a six-month follow-up. Prior to the programme, participants reported low baseline exposure to and low comfort with carrying out common otologic surgeries. Following the laboratory sessions, participants demonstrated statistically significant increases in their reported comfort levels for the majority of these procedures. The model proved feasible, highly sought after by local clinicians, and capable of addressing critical regional training shortages.
Ear conditions require delicate surgical interventions, but surgeons cannot safely operate without hands-on practice. Establishing local anatomical dissection facilities reduces dependency on overseas training, helping clinicians in low-resource settings build vital surgical competencies directly within their home region. This addresses widespread shortages in specialised healthcare delivery and improves regional capacity to treat complex ear diseases.
The work demonstrates an applied, tested educational model for medical training centres and healthcare institutions. The primary users are practicing otolaryngologists and surgical education providers seeking to establish low-cost anatomical simulation facilities. While the training structure is actively implemented and tested in a real-world academic setting, the abstract does not describe a commercial product or proprietary technology pathway.
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Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of a temporal bone dissection laboratory in Tanzania to support otologic surgical training for otolaryngologists in the region. Study Design: This prospective cohort study evaluates six temporal bone laboratory training sessions over the course of 11 months. Pretraining and posttraining surveys were distributed during the first year of implementation in 2023. Postsurveys were distributed both immediately and 6 months posttraining. Setting: Single tertiary care academic medical center in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Methods: Participant data for 47 attendees including country/region of practice, otologic procedures completed, and number of trainees/audiologists in their clinical practice were collected in the pretraining survey. A 5-point Likert scale was used to assess pretraining and posttraining comfort with completing common otologic procedures. Study outcomes included comfort level, barriers to implementing acquired knowledge, and overall training quality. Results: The results highlight that participants did not have pretraining comfort with, exposure to, and training with many otologic surgeries. These limitations were largely attributed to barriers identified by participants including limited access to training, learning opportunities, and equipment for otologic procedures. Findings also indicate statistically significant increases in comfort level for the majority of common otologic procedures evaluated. Conclusion: This study highlights that the training has been both feasible for and desired by participants, and has addressed critical needs in continued surgical training. Temporal bone dissection labs are a feasible and highly desired model to increase the otologic capacity of practicing otolaryngologists regionally and offer a promising approach for addressing the lack of training opportunities in the region.
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DOI: 10.1002/oto2.70134
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