Evaluation of distributed practice schedules on retention of a newly acquired surgical skill: a randomized trial.

Background: practice influences new skill acquisition. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate the impact of practice distribution (weekly vs monthly) on complex motor skill (end-side vascular anastomosis) acquisition and 4-month retention.

Methods: twenty-four surgical interns were randomly assigned to weekly training for 4 weeks or monthly training for 4 months, with equal total training times.

Effects of Tisseel and FloSeal on primary ischemic time in a rat fasciocutaneous free flap model.

Objectives: Free flaps are the technique of choice for reconstruction of defects resulting from extirpation of tumors of the head and neck. Advances in microsurgical technique have resulted in success rates of greater than 95%. Numerous intraoperative factors, ranging from technical issues to topically applied agents, can complicate the outcome of microsurgical free tissue transfer.