Research description
Dr Olof Bladin is currently carrying out his general internship. Dr Bladin was first introduced to the research team when he wrote his master thesis on groin hernia repair in women during his final year of medical school in 2019. The PhD projects focus on surgical training and the learning curve of open groin hernia repair.
The first study will assess the learning curve of open anterior mesh repair for groin hernia, using a cohort of surgical residents from the Swedish Hernia Register. The following studies will focus on open surgical simulation of groin hernia repair, using a 3D-printed hernia model. Two studies in sub–Saharan Africa, one in Uganda and one in Sierra Leone will be conducted in order to assess whether open surgical simulation prior to hands on surgery affects the learning curve of a surgical procedure.
The need for surgical services is substantial in low- and middle-income countries and the ability to meet the needs are constrained by scarcity in human resource. By approaching surgical learning with surgical simulation, the project seeks to improve surgical learning and combat the shortage of human resource and thus improve accessibility of surgical services worldwide.