If lives gives you tomatoes, training microsurgery

Abstract Objectives: Develop a training model using tomatoes to acquire ophthalmic microsurgical skills. Methods: Two species of immature and mature tomatoes (long life and cherry tomato) were used. A 0.5cm radius circle was delimited with a permanent marker. Under a magnification by a video system, the peel was separated, trying to avoid damaging the fruit. After dissection, it was performed the raffia of the peel with 10-0 mononylon thread. Results: The models used proved to be viable for training in microsurgical dissection, regardless of the species. The average cost of each simulator was less than U$ 1.00. The average dissection time was 10.40 ± 1.84 minutes for ripe tomatoes and 15.20 ± 2.25 minutes for greens. Only in immature tomatoes was it possible to make the raffia. Conclusion: The training model developed proved to be suitable for the initial training of many ophthalmic skills. In addition, it has a low cost and is easy to purchase and manufacture.