Assessing the Educational Value of YouTube Videos on Major Laparoscopic Liver Resection: A Cross-sectional Study of the Top 20 Most Viewed Laparoscopic Right and Left Hepatectomy Videos

Online videos of robotic-assisted cholecystectomies: more harm than good?

BACKGROUND

Many surgeons use online videos to learn. However, these videos vary in content, quality, and educational value. In the setting of recent work questioning the safety of robotic-assisted cholecystectomies, we aimed (1) to identify highly watched online videos of robotic-assisted cholecystectomies, (2) to determine whether these videos demonstrate suboptimal techniques, and (3) to compare videos based on platform.

METHODS

Two authors searched YouTube and a members-only Facebook group to identify highly watched videos of robotic-assisted cholecystectomies. Three members of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons Safe Cholecystectomy Task Force then reviewed videos in random order. These three members rated each video using Sanford and Strasberg's six-point criteria for critical view of safety (CVS) scoring and the Parkland grading scale for cholecystitis. We performed regression to determine any association between Parkland grade and CVS score. We also compared scores between the YouTube and Facebook videos using a t test.

RESULTS

We identified 50 videos of robotic-assisted cholecystectomies, including 25 from YouTube and 25 from Facebook. Of the 50 videos, six demonstrated a top-down approach. The remaining 44 videos received a mean of 2.4 of 6 points for the CVS score (SD = 1.8). Overall, 4 of the 50 videos (8%) received a passing CVS score of 5 or 6. Videos received a mean of 2.4 of 5 points for the Parkland grade (SD = 0.9). Videos on YouTube had lower CVS scores than videos on Facebook (1.9 vs. 2.8, respectively), though this difference was not significant (p = 0.09). By regression, there was no association between Parkland grade and CVS score (p = 0.13).

CONCLUSION

Publicly available and closed-group online videos of robotic-assisted cholecystectomy demonstrated inadequate dissection and may be of limited educational value. Future work should center on introducing measures to identify and feature videos with high-quality techniques most useful to surgeons.

How Reliable Are YouTube Videos for General Surgery Residents Learning?

Introduction  YouTube is one of the top-searched online video streaming platforms. However, the content of YouTube may not match the standards required for clinical skills learning. Therefore, we investigated the quality of top-viewed YouTube videos related to three basic surgical procedures that need to be performed by general surgery residents in their first year of training in our institute. Methods  We searched YouTube for the top 10 viewed demonstration videos related to ultrasound-guided abscess drainage, chest tube insertion, and central line insertion. For the eligible videos, we calculated the likes ratio, view ratio, and video power index. The videos' quality was assessed using LAParoscopic surgery Video Educational GuidelineS (LAP-VEGaS) scores. The videos were categorized into high-quality (LAP-VEGaS score ≥ 11) and low-quality videos (LAP-VEGaS score < 11). The different descriptive (view counts, duration, and likes-dislikes) and calculated parameters stated above were compared between the two video quality-based groups. Results The selected videos were uploaded between July 2008 and March 2022. Their mean view counts were 460391.13±373760.19. Their mean video duration was 8.12±4.26 minutes. Their mean likes and dislikes were 2578.38±2977.43 and 144.10±129.80, respectively. The mean like ratio and the mean view ratio were 93.42±13.53 and 317.76±827.79, respectively. The mean video power index was 310.67±827.96. The mean LAP-VEGaS scores for ultrasound-guided abscess drainage, chest tube insertion, and central line insertion-related videos were 6.80, 11.10, and 11.20, respectively. The numbers of likes and dislikes were significantly higher for high-quality videos. Conversely, the view counts, the view ratio, and the video power index were significantly lower for high-quality videos. Conclusion  Top-viewed videos related to general surgery procedural demonstrations are of low quality. The video view counts, popularity, and likes-dislikes are highly unreliable indicators of surgical video's usefulness. There is a need for regulatory mechanisms to screen the YouTube content suitable for general surgery residents learning. The residents should therefore be cautious while making inferences based on YouTube videos.

Evaluation of the Educational Quality of the Top 30 Most Viewed Laparoscopic Distal Pancreatectomy Videos on YouTube

Background: Online surgical videos serve as useful adjuncts for surgical training. YouTube is a social media platform increasingly used for education. However, the educational qualities of these videos have not been proven. This study aims to review the topmost 30 viewed videos on laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP) on YouTube. Methods: A YouTube search was performed on August 1, 2020, using the term "laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy." Inclusion criteria were LDP with or without splenectomy. Exclusion criteria were open or robotic distal pancreatectomy and radical antegrade modular pancreatosplenectomy. To grade the videos, we used a modified version of the LAParoscopic surgery Video Educational GuidelineS (LAP-VEGaS) 24 of the original 37 consensus statements were used in our study. Results: Twenty-nine of the top 30 most viewed videos were included (1 video was a duplicate). The overall mean view count and number of likes were 7195 (range 2322-39,927) and 17 (range 0-108), respectively. Thirteen videos (44.8%) were on LDP with splenic preservation. The mean conformity to the modified LAP-VEGaS was 9.3 (range 4-16) with a mean of 38.8% (range 16.7%-66.7%) of the criteria met. There was weak correlation between the number of views and the number of criteria met (ρ = 0.189, P < .05). Twelve videos (41.4%) described about staple line management, nine videos (31%) about tips and tricks to reduce postoperative pancreatic fistula, including drainage tube management, and three videos (10.3%) identified the common hepatic artery. Videos with no commentary had the lowest mean percentage of criteria met (24.6%). Conclusion: The topmost viewed LDP surgical videos have gaps in meeting the educational needs of a trainee. Video uploaders should be cognizant of the learning needs of surgical trainees.