The Impact of Video Game Experience on Surgical Performance: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Surgical Education
• Medical Technology
• Human Factors in Medicine

Background:

• Video gaming experience is increasingly recognized for its potential to influence psychomotor skills.
• The transferability of these skills to surgical performance remains an area of active investigation.
• Understanding this association can inform novel training strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if video gaming experience correlates with improved surgical performance.
• To explore the implications for surgical training and education across various surgical modalities.
• To synthesize existing evidence on the link between gaming and surgical skills.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was performed across five databases following PRISMA guidelines.
• Included studies compared surgical performance outcomes (e.g., time, error rate, accuracy) between surgeons with and without video gaming experience.
• Risk of bias was assessed using ROBINS-I and RoB 2 tools.

Main Results:

• Fifteen studies (641 participants) were included; one randomized controlled trial and 14 nonrandomized studies.
• Most studies exhibited moderate to serious risk of bias.
• Video gaming experience was linked to better laparoscopic task performance (overall score, time) pre-training, with mixed results for error rates and economy of motion. No significant association was found for non-laparoscopic procedures.

Conclusions:

• Video gaming may offer benefits for surgical performance, primarily in laparoscopic tasks during the pre-training phase.
• It presents a low-cost, accessible adjunct to formal surgical training.
• Current surgical selection criteria and training modules do not require modification based on this evidence.