Table 3. Potential suitability of simulators to assist in transferring skills of surgical steps of vasectomy in clinical practice.
| Vasectomy simulators | Potential suitability* of vasectomy surgical steps | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anesthesia | No-scalpel technique | Vas occlusion | |||||
| 3-finger technique | Vas isolation | Vas delivery | Mucosal cautery | Fascial interposition | |||
| Gaumard® S518 model (18) | ± | + | − | ± | ± | − | |
| Gauze and Tubing (19) | ± | + | − | ± | ± | − | |
| Coe and Curington (20)/University of Wisconsin (21) | ± | + | − | + † | ± | − | |
| Wilson | ± | + | − | + | - | − | |
| Weissman (22) | ± | + | − | + | ± | − | |
| Kaza | ± | + | − | +† | ± | − | |
| Ballon | ± | + | − | ± | ± | − | |
*Suitable in terms of structure and visual/haptic realism to assist skill transfer: +; limited suitability in terms of structure and visual/haptic realism to assist skill transfer: ±; not suitable in terms of structure and visual/haptic realism to assist skill transfer: −. †, when fixed on the working board with clips or tape.