Utility of 3D-display surgical videos for better educational effects in pediatric persistent fetal vasculature for trainees

AIM: To compare the educational benefits of three-dimensional (3D) surgical videos compared with two-dimensional (2D) surgical videos as a training tool for trainees in pediatric persistent fetal vasculature (PFV). METHODS: Trainees were stratified into three tiers by retinal surgery exposure and independent operating experience: Level 1 (≤5y, no independent cases), Level 2 (5–10y, ≤5 independent years), Level 3 (>10y, >5 independent years). Trainees viewed 3D and 2D surgical videos of pediatric PFV in a randomized order and immediately completed a questionnaire to provide educational assessments. RESULTS: Twelve trainees viewed 9 paired 3D and 2D surgical videos from 9 pediatric PFV patients (9 3D videos and 9 2D videos), resulting in 216 completed questionnaires. For pediatric PFV cases, trainees demonstrated a higher accuracy rate when watching 3D surgical videos compared to 2D surgical videos in discerning the depth of the anterior chamber (85.2% vs 70.4%, χ²=6.857, P=0.009), the location of lens opacity (86.1% vs 69.4%, χ²=8.679, P=0.003), and vitreous strips (89.8% vs 78.7%, χ²=5.027, P=0.025). Trainees believed that, compared to 2D surgical videos, 3D surgical videos significantly improved their ability to discriminate shallow anterior chambers (5.70±1.58 vs 3.92±1.14, P<0.001), the location of lens opacity (6.80±1.60 vs 4.36±1.35, P<0.001), vitreous strips (9.06±2.02 vs 7.16±2.42, P<0.001), complicated tractional retinal detachment (9.31±2.13 vs 7.99±2.63, P<0.001), and macular involvement (8.47±2.62 vs 6.91±2.84, P<0.001) in pediatric PFV cases. Trainees found 3D surgical videos to be significantly more satisfactory than 2D surgical videos in terms of image magnification (8.90±1.61 vs 7.17±1.65, P<0.001), clarity (9.21±2.11 vs 7.42±2.27, P<0.001), and depth of field (8.31±2.38 vs 6.78±2.79, P<0.001). Trainees regarded 3D surgical videos as significantly more suitable for ophthalmic surgical teaching (9.23±0.83 vs 5.75±0.93, P<0.001) and implementation (8.83±2.69 vs 6.15±2.83, P<0.001) compared to 2D surgical videos. CONCLUSION: 3D-display surgical videos offer superior educational benefits for trainees earning pediatric PFV vitrectomy surgery compared to 2D videos.