Educational Value of Endoscopic Versus Microscopic Ear Surgery

To compare the educational value of endoscopic ear surgery versus microscopic ear surgery among medical students.

Medical students anonymously completed a cross-sectional survey immediately after observing endoscopic or microscopic ear surgery. A Likert scale (1 = worst, 5 = best) was used to analyze variables across 3 domains including: (1) area of interest visibility, (2) optical quality, (3) education and understanding. The Mann-Whitney U-test and multivariable linear regression were used to compare mean scores of individual items and domain means between endoscopic and microscopic groups.

Forty-four surveys were analyzed (20 endoscopic and 24 microscopic ear surgeries). Across domains, the endoscope was superior to the microscope (adjusted P < .05) for visibility of the area of interest (mean ± SD: 4.74 ± 0.26 vs 4.28 ± 0.50), optical quality (4.78 ± 0.38 vs 4.28 ± 0.64), and education and understanding (4.70 ± 0.47 vs 4.13 ± 0.61). In multivariable linear regression, the mean domain score for visibility of the area of interest was 1.23 (95% CI = 0.56, 1.90; adjusted P < .01) points higher for the endoscopic group, compared to the microscopic group, adjusting for surgeon, procedure, and student type. The mean domain score for education and understanding was 1.19 (95% CI = 0.49. 1.90; adjusted P < 0.01) points higher for the endoscopic group, compared to the microscopic group, adjusting for the same confounders.

Among medical students, endoscopic ear surgery was superior to microscopic ear surgery for several visual quality indicators and perceived educational benefit. These findings have implications for medical student education and surgical training.