Abstract
Background: Understanding middle ear anatomy, in addition to endoscopic
surgical skill acquisition, is an arduous task. Mastering 3-dimensional
conceptualization as well as surgical dexterity may take many years. The
coronavirus pandemic has made training difficult and complicated due to
social distancing and risk of aerosolized viral spread in cadaver
dissection. Objectives: We suggest a smartphone-based endoscope ovine
head cadaveric dissection which is a simple, safe, and affordable
training model for residents as an initial step in otologic endoscopic
surgery training. Design: A stepwise depiction of endoscopic ovine
middle ear surgery; from cadaver and equipment acquisition, setting
preparation, to surgical explanation and procedural steps. Results:
Smartphone-based endoscopic otological ovine dissections provide
comprehensive anatomical understanding, middle ear proprioception, as
well as a “safe” practicing model for diverse middle ear procedures
for the novice endoscopic surgeon. Conclusions: The ovine cadaver
otological smartphone-based endoscopic surgery training model is an
affordable, easy, reproducible, and transportable model, which makes it
an ideal model from implementation in both low-middle and high-income
countries.