Purpose: To compare manual and robot-assisted vitreoretinal surgery using a virtual-reality surgical simulator.
Methods: Randomized controlled crossover study. Ten experienced vitreoretinal surgeons and 10 novice ophthalmic surgeons were included. The participants were randomized to start with either manual or robot-assisted surgery. Participants completed a test session consisting of three vitreoretinal modules on the Eyesi virtual-reality simulator. The automated metrics of performance supplied by the Eyesi simulator were used as outcome measures. Primary outcome measures were time with instruments inserted (seconds), instrument movement (mm), and tissue treatment (mm).
Results: Robot-assisted surgery was slower than manual surgery for both novices and vitreoretinal surgeons, 0.24 SD units (P = 0.024) and 0.73 SD units (P < 0.001), respectively. Robot-assisted surgery allowed for greater precision in novices and vitreoretinal surgeons, -0.96 SD units (P < 0.001) and -0.47 SD units (P < 0.001), respectively. Finally, novices using robot-assisted surgery inflicted less tissue damage when compared with that using manual surgery, -0.59 SD units (P = 0.009).
Conclusion: At the cost of time, robot-assisted vitreoretinal surgery seems to improve precision and limit tissue damage compared with that of manual surgery. In particular, the performance of novice surgeons is enhanced with robot-assisted vitreoretinal surgery.