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Impact of simulator training on resident cataract surgery

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Abstract

Background

Virtual reality surgery simulation training improves resident performance as measured by the simulator itself and wet-lab performance. This study aims to determine whether virtual surgery simulator training improves actual resident cataract surgery performance.

Methods

The first 50 phacoemulsification cases of 20 residents, at a single residency program (Henry Ford Hospital), were retrospectively compared as two groups: before (2007–8) and after (2009–10) introduction of the Eyesi virtual surgery simulator to the surgical training program. Primary outcomes were the incidence of posterior capsule tears and operation duration. All residents received traditional didactic and wet-lab training. Instructor surgeons were surveyed for their impression of the simulator’s contribution to resident surgical training.

Results

The nonsimulator and simulator groups each comprised 500 cases with 40 and 35 posterior capsule tears respectively. Capsular tear rates for the nonsimulator and simulator groups were 8.8 % and 10 % respectively for the first 25 cases, and 7.2 % and 3.6 % (P = 0.11) respectively for cases 26 through 50 . The percentage of long cases (defined as >40 min) for cases 10 through 50 was 42.3 % and 32.4 % (P = 0.005) for the nonsimulator and simulator groups respectively.

Conclusions

Virtual reality surgical simulator training mildly shortens the learning curve for the first 50 phacoemulsification cases. The less adept residents appear to benefit most.

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Acknowledgements

Russell Pokroy received fellowship grants from the American Physicians Fellowship for Medicine in Israel, and from the Israel Ophthalmic Society.

Competing interest

None to declare.

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Correspondence to Russell Pokroy.

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Meeting presentations

Presented in part at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA, May 2011.

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Pokroy, R., Du, E., Alzaga, A. et al. Impact of simulator training on resident cataract surgery. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 251, 777–781 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-012-2160-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-012-2160-z

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