A novel method for assessing visual perception of surgical planes

Area of Science:

• Surgical Education
• Surgical Simulation
• Surgical Skill Assessment

Background:

• Recognizing surgical tissue planes is a skill developed through experience.
• A pilot study was conducted to evaluate this skill in a simulated surgical environment.
• A novel evaluation method was developed for this purpose.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the hypothesis that surgical skill in recognizing tissue planes improves with experience.
• To evaluate a novel method for assessing surgical skill in a simulated environment.
• To determine the utility of this method as an assessment and training tool.

Main Methods:

• Twelve surgeons with varying experience levels participated.
• Surgeons identified ideal dissection planes on mesorectal excision images using a tablet.
• A novel metric assessed precision and accuracy compared to consultant surgeons.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in precision were observed for 9 of 16 images, often correlating with experience.
• Senior trainees demonstrated significantly higher accuracy than junior trainees in 10 of 11 comparisons.
• The novel method showed potential, with only 2 images not yielding significant findings.

Conclusions:

• Surgical ability to recognize tissue planes demonstrably improves with experience.
• The novel simulation method shows promise for assessing surgical skill.
• Further evaluation is needed to confirm its utility as an assessment and training instrument.