Use of Operative Video Technology in Surgical Education: A Systematic Review

To explore the use of real-life operative videos for teaching surgical procedures and evaluate how these compare to alternative teaching methods.

Surgical trainees face increasing challenges in training due to evolving working patterns and the growing complexity of surgical procedures. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult to develop operative competence. To address such challenges, new training tools must be developed to meet the demands of contemporary surgical practice.

We searched 5 databases (PUBMED, EMBASE, SCI-Expanded, ERIC, and CENTRAL) up to December 2024 for operative videos used in teaching surgical procedures. Articles were assessed on video format, editing method, and user interaction type. Educational impact was evaluated according to self-reported outcomes, knowledge acquisition, skill demonstration, clinical behaviors, and clinical outcomes.

Out of 35 included articles, 24 compared the educational benefit of operative videos against interventions that did not utilize real-life intraoperative content or baseline scores. Significantly favorable findings were demonstrated in 20 studies, including self-reported outcomes (60%), knowledge acquisition (64%), skill demonstration (66%), and clinical behaviors (100%). Ten studies compared types of operative video interventions. Trainees benefited more from 3-dimensional (n = 5) or virtual reality (n = 2) platforms compared to 2-dimensional formats. Those trained with videos editing key steps (n = 1) and applying cognitive task analyses (n = 1) performed better than with unstructured narration; and those incorporating interaction with the video outperformed those without (n = 2).

Growing evidence supports the use of operative videos for surgical training, though further research is needed to determine the optimal formats and their impact on patient outcomes.