THE IMPACT OF SURGICAL EXPERIENCE ON MSICS(MANUAL SMALL INCISION CATARACT SURGERY) SIMULATOR PERFORMANCE: NOVICE VS. EXPERT ANALYSIS"
Published 2025 - 29th ESCRS Winter Meeting
Reference: PO048 | Type: Free Paper | DOI: 10.82333/y7fy-1177
Authors: Arundhati Dvivedi* 1
1CATARACT , CORNEA AND ANTERIOR SEGMENT SERVICES,LV PRASAD EYE INSTITUTE,HYDERABAD,India
Purpose
In this study we aim to compare the performances of the experienced surgeons versus novice surgeons on the MSICS (manual small incision cataract surgery) surgical simulator
Setting
This was a prospective observational study and was conducted on the Help Me See MSICS( Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery) surgical simulator at our institute, over a period of 3 months from 1st July to 30th September, 2023
Methods
We classified surgeons into 2 groups based on their surgical experience as 1. Novices (performed<25 SICS) 2. Experienced surgeons (performed>500 SICS) and assessed the performance of these 2 groups for the steps of sclerocorneal tunnel dissection and capsulorrhexis on the Help Me See MSICS simulator. We compared number of attempts taken, overall score and profile of errors at the end of completion of 3 satisfactory attempts between the groups
Results
Independent sample t test showed that the number of attempts taken to achieve 3 satisfactory attempts at steps of sclerocorneal tunnel dissection
(21.13 ± 9.11 vs 10.42 ± 4.03, p= 0.0013) and capsulorrhexis (25.67 ± 20.618 vs 9.53 ± 3.77, p= 0.006) by the novices are statistically significantly higher compared to the experienced surgeons . Similar results were seen with the complications encountered during both the steps. Sizing errors(26.6 ± 27.00 vs 6.73 ± 4.99, p= 0.009), Zonular dialysis (14.87 ± 14.81 vs 2.33 ± 2.19, p= 0.003) and run away (5.53 ± 6.05 vs 0.92 ± 1.038, p= 0.012) - all being significantly more in novices compared to experienced surgeons. Button hole (4.4 ± 2.2 vs 0.85 ± 0.69, p< 0.001), premature entry (4.4± 2.02 vs 1 ± 0.70, p= 0.001) were also higher in novices compared to experienecd surgeons
Conclusion
The experienced surgeons needed lesser number of attempts to get the three satisfactory attempts at capsulorrhexis and sclerocorneal tunnel dissection and also had lesser overall errors.
These findings suggest that prior surgical experience reduces the learning curve, even in simulated environments. This emphasizes the added value of simulators for novice surgeons, offering a safe space to refine skills and reduce common errors before operating on live patients