2016 Research Awards
The Branch is pleased to announce the two residents awarded research grants to support travel related to research activities in surgical care in international health.
The Award Committee extends a special thank you to everyone who submitted proposals and encourages you to continue your global surgery-related work. We gratefully acknowledge support from Medtronic that enables us to provide these awards.
Congratulations to the award recipients! We look forward to presentations of their projects at future BIS rounds and other forums.
Meet the UBC residents who were awarded a Research Grant in 2015:
Kimberly Luu, R4 Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery UBC
Field Mission: January 2016 – Uganda
Validity Testing a Lo-Fidelity Simulator for Ear Surgery in a Low-Resource Setting
Research Study
Providing effective surgical training can be challenging. Traditionally, surgical skills are acquired though unstructured, graduated exposure and practice under the guidance of a staff surgeon. Microscopic ear surgery is particularly difficult, requiring a very unique set of dexterous skills including working with a microscope and in a very complex and small space.
The goal of this project was to introduce the Ear Trainer to Ugandan Otolaryngology residents and medical students and assess the face validity to determine if the current model meets its goals as a suitable simulation model in a low-resource setting.
The study was designed as a prospective trial with two main objectives:
1. To demonstrate face validity for the lo-fidelity ear surgery trainer in a low-resource environment, and
2. To demonstrate objective learning in subjects that practice on the Ear Trainer.
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Dr. David Stockton, 2nd year Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Resident UBC
Field Mission: September 2015 – Uganda
Clinical outcomes for open tibial shaft fractures: A prospective randomized trial comparing external fixation to unreamed intramedullary nailing in Uganda
Research Study
Global deaths due to injury are projected to increase 40% between 2002 and 2030, predominantly due to increased motor vehicle fatalities associated with economic growth in LMICs (Mathers et al, 2006). For every person who dies from a road traffic accident, many more face temporary or permanent disability. Epidemiologic data show that open tibia fractures are the most common open long bone fracture, which understandably most often results from road traffic accidents (Court-Brown et al, 2012). This research examines the outcomes of performing intramedullary tibial nailing in an environment where external fixation is currently the standard of care. It has been determined that patients with Gustilo Type II and IIIA open tibial fractures may experience the most benefit from the findings of this study, and therefore they form its focus.
Research Questions:
1. Does intramedullary nailing result in improved functional outcomes for adult patients with Gustilo Type II and IIIA open tibial shaft fractures in Uganda compared to external fixation?
2. Does treatment with IM nail improve rates of infection, malunion, non-union, healing, and reoperation compared to external fixation?
