The tale of the "unlucky" 13 errors in the "journey" towards an outstanding end -product in microvascular anastomosis training.

In microsurgery training, where the first steps occur in a safe simulated environment, we believe there is a lack of emphasis on well reflected commonly occurring mistakes; education manuals provide stepwise instructions on performing tasks but do not list common mistakes and ways to avoid them. It is well acknowledged that the majority of vascular anastomotic complications are attributed to technical errors, however the validated global rating scales that are used to assess microsurgical competency do not address errors and how to avoid making them - potentially preventing devastating failures. Our aim is to improve and streamline constructive feedback in microsurgical education by use of an error-based learning resource. By referring to our '13 errors' graphic, teachers and students can refer to specific errors they have made, and quickly revise these with error-specific feedback, with and without supervision. The '13 errors' table enables identification errors, explanation as to why these may have occurred, and constructive feedback in order to rectify the mistake.