An analysis of virtual reality in abdominal surgery-A scoping review

Vincent Ochs; Baraa Saad; Stephanie Taha-Mehlitz; Sebastian Staubli; Katerina Neumann; Laura Fischer; Michael D Honaker; Sebastian Lamm; Robert Rosenberg; Anas Taha; Philippe C Cattin

doi:10.1002/rcs.2623

An analysis of virtual reality in abdominal surgery-A scoping review

Int J Med Robot. 2024 Feb;20(1):e2623. doi: 10.1002/rcs.2623.

Authors

Vincent Ochs¹, Baraa Saad², Stephanie Taha-Mehlitz³, Sebastian Staubli^{3

4}, Katerina Neumann⁵, Laura Fischer⁶, Michael D Honaker⁷, Sebastian Lamm⁸, Robert Rosenberg⁸, Anas Taha^{1

7

8}, Philippe C Cattin¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, University of Basel, Allschwil, Switzerland.
² St George's University of London, London, UK.
³ Department of Visceral Surgery, Clarunis, University Center for Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, St. Clara Hospital and University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland.
⁴ Department of HPB Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
⁵ Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
⁶ Department of Surgery, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
⁷ Department of Surgery, East Carolina University, Brody School of Medicine, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
⁸ Department of Surgery, Centre for Gastrointestinal Diseases, Cantonal Hospital Basel-Landschaft Liestal, Liestal, Switzerland.

PMID: 38375774
DOI: 10.1002/rcs.2623

Abstract

Background: The integration of virtual reality (VR) in surgery has gained prominence as VR applications have increased in popularity.

Methods: A scoping review was undertaken, gathering the most relevant sources, utilising a detailed literature search of medical and academic databases including EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane, IEEE, Google Scholar, and the Google search engine.

Results: Of the 18 articles included, 7 focused on VR in colon surgery, 5 addressed VR in pancreas surgery, and the remaining 6 concentrated on VR in liver surgery. All the articles concluded that VR has a promising future in abdominal surgery by facilitating precision, visualisation, and surgeon training.

Conclusions: Adopting VR technology in abdominal surgery has the potential to improve preoperative planning, decrease perioperative anxiety among patients, and facilitate the training of surgeons, residents, and medical students. Additional supporting studies are necessary before VR can be widely implemented in surgical care delivery.

Keywords: abdominal surgery; colorectal cancer; liver surgery; pancreatic surgery; virtual reality.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Humans
Surgeons*
Virtual Reality*