00. Getting Started
Welcome to SutureTutorPlus!
Please take the time to go through this section before you dive into the course!
It contains information on how to navigate your way around the course content, important safety advice, instructions on how to set up all the equipment in your Hands-on Kit and details of where to find the course manuals.
In this module
00.02 Important Safety Advice
To protect yourself and others, we recommend you view the Handling of Instruments module in this course before attempting any of the practical suturing exercises. Remember that some of the instruments and the suture needles in your kit are sharp and can cause injury if not secured and handled properly.
Avoid leaving your Hands-on Kit in places where children and other people with no medical experience can access it.
The scalpel supplied in your Hands-on Kit comes with a protective sheath to cover the blade when not in use. Please make sure you always use this.
Always dispose of used needles and scalpel blades in an approved sharps container. If you do not have immediate access to one, we recommend you use the lid of your Hands-on Kit as a temporary sharps container while you work. Alternatively, anchor used sutures in the foam of the skin pad until a sharps bin can be found.
The instruments are for practice only and not for clinical use on humans or animals.
When you begin work as a professional you will need to wear sterile gloves for all patient procedures. We therefore recommend you wear gloves for all the practical exercises in this course, so that you become used to working in them.
00.03 Setting up your Hands-on Kit
To get the most out of this course, we highly recommend you use the online content in conjunction with our SutureTutorPlus Hands-on Kit of instruments, sutures, knot tying trainer and simulated soft tissue. The kit provides everything you need to practise 30 of the practical exercises in the course.
Tests on our skin pads have shown that it is possible to make up to 6 incisions in the pad, each of which can be sutured between 10 and 20 times. With careful use, therefore, you should be able to practise all of the suturing techniques in the course several times using the one pad that is provided in your Hands-on Kit.
If you do need extra skin pads, sutures or replacement instruments, these can all be ordered through our online shop.
Our knot tying demonstrations are performed on our professional knot tying trainer. Although this differs from the one supplied in your kit, the basic structure is the same with the red band acting as the structure to tie around and a red and white cord representing the suture.
00.03.01 Assembling the Skin Pad Jig
- To ensure a secure fix, make sure the work surface is smooth. Rough surfaces will not work with the sucker feet
- Make sure that the jig will be properly oriented and comfortably positioned in front of you before you secure it in place
- Moisten both sucker feet with a little water, place the jig on the work surface and push down along the centre of it
- Make sure the feet have stuck securely by trying to move the jig
- Insert the skin pad. You are now ready to start practising
- To easily remove the jig, completely slide the white part off to one side, leaving the sucker feet in place. Peel the sucker feet off individually. Slide the sucker feet back into the groove under the jig
00.03.02 Assembling the Knot Tying Kit
You will use the sucker feet from the skin pad jig as the anchor points for this kit, so remove them from the underside of it.
- Make sure that the sucker feet will be properly oriented and comfortably positioned in front of you before you secure them in place
- Lightly moisten the sucker feet and place them 12 to 13cm apart (measuring from the middle of each foot)
- Attach the red knot tying band to the top of the sucker feet
- Place the two-coloured knot tying cord under the knot tying band. You are now ready to start practising
00.03.03 Assembling the Depth Tying Cylinder & Hook
You will use this for tying at depth and within a confined space.
- Moisten both sucker feet with a little water. Place the jig on the work surface and push down along the centre of it. Make sure the feet have stuck securely by trying to move the jig
- Slide the base plate (with the magnet facing upwards) under the long sides of the skin pad jig
- Insert the long edge of the top plate (with the hole) under the one edge of the skin pad jig
- Gently push the other edge of the top plate into the skin pad jig so that it 'pops' under it and forms a convex shape with the hole at the apex
- Curve around the long flat sheet and insert the tab through the double slits to start forming the depth tying cylinder. Hold this tab in place.
- Insert the other tab into the remaining slit
- Push the cylinder into the hole in the top plate
- Attach the magnetic hook to the base plate. The hook represents an object to be ligated
There are 2 strength levels for the magnetic hook:
- For maximum strength, the hook attaches directly to the base plate. This represents tough tissue and is good for your first attempts at tying within a confined space: it takes quite a lot of force to separate the hook from the base
- For less strength place the spacer (the circular plastic disc) over the magnet on the base plate and then attach the magnetic hook. This represents more delicate tissue and the hook will come away from the base plate with little force
00.04 Course Manual
If you're the sort of person that likes to make notes or highlight information as you learn, we suggest you go straight to the Support Material section of the course. Here you'll find a PDF for each course module containing transcripts of the video narrations.
You are licensed to download and print off one copy of each PDF for your own personal use.