Evaluation of the Use of the Eyesi Virtual Reality Surgical Simulator by Residents and Medical Specialists in the Argentine Council of Ophthalmology

Purpose: To assess whether the use of virtual reality surgical simulators accelerates the learning curve in cataract surgery, decreases the anxiety and reduces the complication rate in a real patient. Methods: A Virtual Simulation Course of Cataract Surgery was carried out at the headquarters of the Argentine Council of Ophthalmology using the EyeSi simulator (VRmagic) between January to November 2018. At the end of the course resident physicians and specialists answered an anonymous survey to evaluate the objectives of this work. Results: In total 12 physicians completed course and answered survey, 2/3 were specialists and 1/3 residents or concurrents. Prior to course start, most surgeons felt very confidents in final steps of cataract surgery and were not confidents in initial steps. The majority considered that simulator improved their performance in steps in which they had more difficulty and felt less confident (capsulorhexis, phacofracture and removal of quadrants), but only a minority felt that improved their performance in complex cases (pupillary dilators use and anterior vitrectomy). The 100% of participants considered that virtual simulation served to accelerate their learning curve of different steps of cataract surgery and decrease their rate of complications in a real patient, while 91.7% answered that it will reduce anxiety during the surgical act. Conclusions: The use of virtual reality surgical simulators by resident physicians and specialists of a few years of professional practice is beneficial to shorten the learning curve of the different steps of cataract surgery, reduce stress and anxiety during the act surgical and decrease the rate of complications in real patients.