Live surgery in body donors with interactive digital technologies for innovative and interdisciplinary teaching of surgical anatomy

BACKGROUND: A deep understanding of anatomy is essential for the professional education of competent clinicians, especially surgeons. This study explores an innovative format of live surgery on body donors complemented by interactive digital technologies and assesses its perceived educational value among students. By evaluating the individual digital technologies, this study also evaluates the format's practical feasibility as a testing platform for digital technologies in surgical anatomy education. METHODS: Operations were performed on body donors by experts in a live format in front of an audience of 40-80 medical students. Surgeons and anatomy specialists interacted with students and explained procedures step by step. Students actively participated in the operations, gaining direct practical experience. In addition, the latest digital interactive technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), were continuously used and evaluated. RESULTS: Evaluations demonstrated that 96% of 412 participants were 'very enthusiastic' about the concept and appreciated the use of multimedia teaching methods. The Touch Surgery app was well received (mean 3.2 ± SD 1.3; Likert scale 1-5, where 5 indicated 'fully applies'). By using interactive platforms such as Slido and TED, the contents could be repeated and prepared, which was highly appreciated (mean 4.4 ± SD 1.1; Likert scale 1-5, where 5 indicated 'fully applies'). In particular, the use of computed tomography (CT) scans of the body donors was rated positively (mean 3.6 ± SD 1.4; Likert scale 1-5, where 5 indicated 'fully applies'). CONCLUSIONS: Live surgery using body donors improved not only the students' self-reported anatomical knowledge but also the innovative digital technologies with a focus on VR and, in particular, the complementary use of CT datasets of body donors, were perceived positively. This new format is a valuable addition to the standard medical curriculum, providing students with further tools for a better understanding of surgical anatomy and potentially supporting greater confidence in long-term clinical practice.