title: Sheep practice eye for ophthalmic surgery training in skills laboratory.
abstract: Pig eyes are not available for surgical practice in the Middle East and Central Asia. We reviewed the literature to select an alternative animal practice eye based on biometry, availability, expense, and the ethical issue of animal sacrifice. Twenty enucleated sheep eyes were studied with an ultrasonography immersion technique, and a variety of techniques for globe harvesting were tested and compared. The sheep eye was judged to be the best practical choice for ophthalmic surgery practice and the "bone shattering" exenteration maneuver, the most efficient harvesting method. Several anterior segment procedures were performed in the sheep eyes. Introduction of this sheep model would be instrumental in the development of ophthalmology skills laboratories and surgical training in Middle Eastern and Central Asian regions.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.
authors: Eye Research Center, Farabi Eye Hospital, Students' Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: S Farzad
authors: SF
authors: Mohammadi
authors: Arash
authors: A
authors: Mazouri
authors: Mahmoud
authors: M
authors: Jabbarvand
authors: Nazanin
authors: N
authors: Rahman-A
authors: Aeen
authors: A
authors: Mohammadi