This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
New 3-D surgical simulators can help surgeons manage intraoperative complications, speaker says
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
PARIS — Surgical simulators such as the VRmagic Eyesi can enhance surgical training by enabling surgeons to develop cognitive skills to handle unforeseen complications, according to a speaker here.
Ophthalmologists should include surgical simulation in their training, "much as pilots have to practice many hours in a flight simulator that can realistically emulate almost any weather condition and mechanical problem that they are likely to face," Brian Little, MD, said at the Euretina meeting.
There are three sequential cognitive skills that can be advantageous when faced with a complication during surgery: information gathering, situation assessment and decision making. If properly developed, these skills allow the surgeon to stay calm and decide on the best course of action.
"In very few cases, things go wrong due to a lack of technical skills - ie, because the right action is taken but badly executed. Most surgical disasters are due to errors in cognitive skills — ie, the wrong action is taken and perfectly executed," Dr. Little said.
Created by VRmagic, the Eyesi surgical simulator is the first ophthalmic virtual reality 3-D surgical training system. It has two modules: one for vitreoretinal surgery and one for phaco.
"These machines are likely to make a significant contribution towards surgical training, as they are reaching the level of sophistication that is seen in current virtual flight simulators," Dr. Little said.