American Journal of Surgery publishes paper on using virtual reality for surgical education

A laparoscopic appendicectomy is a common surgical emergency procedure often performed by trainee doctors. It is used to treat acute appendicitis, the most common abdominal surgical emergency. Carrying out appendicectomies laparoscopically is beneficial as it reduces the incidence of wound infections, hospital stay and postoperative complications. However, this procedure requires unique technical skills that are not transferable from open surgery.

The applications of virtual reality (VR) vary greatly and VR simulation has rapidly proven itself to be an effective training tool in surgical education. VR use enables measurement of performance metrics and the construction of elaborate scenes for exercises that can be easily repeated. It enables surgeons to gain the necessary technical skills for a range of surgeries in a safe, controlled and standardized environment.

In a paper currently in press with the American Journal of Surgery, a team based at the Royal Free Hospital, with support from Dr Henry Potts (UCL Institute of Health Informatics), used a randomised study to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new curriculum using VR technology to teach laparoscopic appendicectomies. The aim of the study was to develop a step-wise structured VR curriculum for the procedure with demonstrated construct validity.

To read the paper visit: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2019.04.020

Sinitsky D. et al., Development of a structured virtual reality curriculum for laparoscopic appendicectomy. The American Journal of Surgery 2019 In Press doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2019.04.020