The Efficacy of Viewing an Educational Video as a Method for the Acquisition of Basic Laparoscopic Suturing Skills

Study Objective: To estimate the efficacy of viewing an educational video in the acquisition of laparoscopic suturing skills. Design: A prospective observational study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). Setting: Tertiary care academic medical institution. Subjects: Twelve candidates interviewing for the female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery fellowship position at our institution. Interventions: Candidates were evaluated in the laparoscopy laboratory before and after watching a 6-minute educational video on the basic principles of laparoscopic suturing. Each candidate evaluation included the following tasks: (1) introduction of a needle through a trocar (timed in seconds); (2) load and position a needle for suturing with a laparoscopic needle holder (evaluated by number of movements); (3) running continuous suture with 2 passes (timed in seconds); (4) intracorporeal knot tying with 2 throws (timed in seconds); and (5) extracorporeal knot tying with 2 knots (timed in seconds). Measurements and Main Results: Wilcoxon signed rank test was used for the statistical comparison of the candidates' performance before and after viewing the video. After viewing the teaching video, the total median time to perform all timed tasks improved by 20% (115.5 seconds, p = .009). Significant improvement occurred in the median time of introducing the needle through a trocar, continuous suturing, and extracorporeal knot tying (p = .02, p = .01, and p = .003, respectively). Conclusion: The use of an educational video appears to be an effective method for the acquisition of basic laparoscopic suturing skills.