Abdominal crepitus and associated subcutaneous emphysema on imaging following open gynecologic surgery typically signals life-threatening complications including perforated viscus and necrotizing fasciitis, which require prompt intervention. This case is the second to date after open gynecologic surgery where, after extensive workup, significant subcutaneous emphysema of uncertain etiology was diagnosed with a benign and self-resolving course without any long term sequalae.

Objectives: Urinary tract injuries are a known complication of gynecologic surgery, occurring in 0.18% -0.80% of procedures and most commonly involving the bladder. Appropriate identification, evaluation, treatment, and follow-up by gynecologic surgeons are important to reduce the associated long-term morbidities. The purpose of this study was to implement a comprehensive cadaver curriculum in cystotomy repair for OBGYN residents. Methods: This was a prospective observational cohort study including 10 OBGYN residents (PGY1-3) at a single institution in 2020 (56% of the 18 eligible residents). The curriculum consisted of a one-hour didactic lecture and one-hour hands-on surgical skills training with fresh frozen cadavers. Residents were evaluated in three domains: 1) knowledge, 2) surgical skills, and 3) confidence. Knowledge, confidence, and resident satisfaction were evaluated with pre-and post-surveys. The bladder model, derived from the ACOG Simulation Working Group, was used to evaluate surgical skills at baseline and at completion of the curriculum. Results: Across all three PGY levels, statistically significant improvements were observed in knowledge, surgical skills, and confidence after didactic and cadaver education (p = 0.001, p < 0.02, and p = 0.009 respectively). The largest increases in confidence occurred in residents' ability to describe and perform cystotomy repairs. Conclusions: Educating and training OBGYN residents to manage and repair cystotomies can be challenging given the low incidence of injury in the operating room. The cadaver surgical skills curriculum was an effective training module and remains an important component of skills training in conjunction with simulation and traditional didactic sessions.