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Diari de Catalunya

Bellvitge's Board Game Simulates Aneurysm Surgery to Reduce Mortality Rates

The gamification tool, called Let’s Play–The RAAA Experience, trains surgical teams in coordination during extreme emergency situations.

Generic image of hands moving pieces on a board game simulating an operating room.
IA

Generic image of hands moving pieces on a board game simulating an operating room.

The Bellvitge University Hospital has implemented the board simulator Let’s Play–The RAAA Experience to train medical teams in managing ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms, aiming to improve coordination and reduce emergency mortality.

The game, devised by doctors at Bellvitge, simulates a complete surgical intervention, from the patient's arrival at the emergency room to their exit from the operating theater. The game, which lasts between 45 and 60 minutes, assigns players the roles of surgeon, anesthesiologist, or orderly, fostering decision-making and communication in critical situations. The main goal is not to score points, but to reduce postoperative mortality.
Dr. Elena Iborra Ortega, head of the Angiology and Vascular Surgery Service at the hospital, led the initiative, which received funding from the Servei Català de Salut (SISCAT) within the framework of Transformative Projects.
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"With the game, we save time dedicated to training. If simulation requires 4 to 6 hours, the game reduces the training to one hour."

Elena Iborra Ortega · Head of Angiology and Vascular Surgery Service at Bellvitge Hospital
Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (RAAA) is a rare emergency but carries a very high mortality rate if not treated quickly. Thanks to programs like this, the hospital has managed to reduce postoperative mortality by ten percentage points, dropping from 42% to 32% in the last decade. The simulator has already been incorporated into training sessions for healthcare teams at other Catalan centers such as Can Ruti in Badalona and Trueta in Girona.
The game Let’s Play–The RAAA Experience has been compared to a professional, high-tension version of the classic board game Operation, created in 1965 by John Spinello. While the classic game requires manual dexterity, the Bellvitge version focuses on coordination, communication, and team strategy to address the complexity of real medicine.

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