Implementation of a Hands-On Surgical Anatomy Dissection Elective Course in Otolaryngology for Medical Students

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

8:00 AM - 8:06 AM EDT

Location: 128

Disclosure(s):

Akhil Katragadda, BS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Kyle K. VanKoevering, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: Hands-on surgical anatomy courses may address medical school educational gaps. This study describes the implementation of a novel elective course for fourth-year medical students integrating otolaryngology cadaveric surgical dissection instruction with clinical experience. We aim to determine this course’s potential to improve surgical anatomic knowledge and technical skills.

Methods: This four-week elective course was completed by four students and included didactics, clinical experiences, and cadaver-based activities including suturing skills, surgical instrument handling, endoscopic endonasal dissections, graft harvesting, advanced reconstruction techniques, and three-dimensional anatomic model development. Students were evaluated at two and four weeks on their performance of four surgical tasks: uncinectomy, vertical mattress suturing, advancement flap, and conchal graft harvest. Two expert reviewers evaluated technical skill and efficiency during tasks using the validated Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) and task completion times. Data was analyzed for trends in student performance. Subjective data was collected about student perception of course effectiveness using an adapted version of the Minimally Invasive Surgery Student Evaluation System (MiSSES).

Results: Between two and four weeks, students had a mean OSATS score improvement of 85.0%, 10.7%, 7.8%, and 7.8% and a mean reduction in task completion time of 39.4%, 17.9%, 21.2%, and 27.6% for the uncinectomy, suturing, advancement flap, and conchal cartilage harvest tasks, respectively. On the MiSSES, all students strongly agreed that this course helped improve their surgical and anatomic knowledge.

Conclusions: Students demonstrated improvement in otolaryngology anatomic knowledge and surgical skills and reported subjective course efficacy. This study suggests that a structured, surgical dissection course for fourth-year medical students can strengthen foundations before residency. Future directions include longitudinal follow-up and expansion into first-year resident training.

Presenting Author(s)

Akhil Katragadda, BS

Medical Student
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Disclosure(s):
faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Co-Author(s)

Moataz D. Abouammo, MD MSc

Research Associate of the Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Department
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
MA

Mohammad Bilal Alsavaf, MD

Postdoc Research Fellow
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Springfield , IL, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
RG

Rodrigo D. Gehrke, MD

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
Soumya Sharma, BS MS

Medical Student
University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
New Albany, OH, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
Zachary A. Wykoff, MD

PGY-1 Resident Physician
OhioHealth/Doctors Hospital, Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery
Columbus, OH, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
AS

Ada C. Sher, BS

The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
Zheng Hong Tan, PhD

Graduate Research Associate
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
COLUMBUS, OH, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
Nathalie N. Sackey, MD

PGY-1, Otolaryngology
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Bethesda, MD, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
Nolan B. Seim, MD, MBA

Associate Professor
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Columbus, OH, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
Kyle K. VanKoevering, MD

Associate Professor in the College of Medicine
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Disclosure(s):
faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Senior Author(s)

RC

Ricardo L. Carrau, MD MBA

Professor
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
columbus, Ohio, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.