Development of an evaluation framework for robotic total mesorectal excision videos: a review and comparison of medical professional and public video resources
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the quality of educational surgical videos for robotic total mesorectal excision (TME), across widely used open-source platforms, using a newly designed quality assessment checklist.
Methods
The checklist was developed by using existing society guidelines, such as the European Academy of Robotic Colorectal Surgery, comprising four key sections: (i) usability of the platform, (ii) video component, (iii) intraoperative techniques and (iv) other information (including case presentation and outcomes). Videos were identified using the search terms ‘Robotic TME’ from surgical education platforms (WebSurg, C-SATS and Touch Surgery) and YouTube, between January 2016 and July 2024. All videos displaying robotic TME were reviewed and scored using the quality assessment tool (/12), and the videos across the platforms were subsequently compared.
Results
A total of 113 videos were scored using the checklist: 63 surgical education platform (10 WebSurg and 53 C-SATS) and 50 YouTube videos. The total median checklist score achieved by WebSurg (9 [IQR 8–9] and YouTube videos (8 [IQR 7–10]) was significantly higher than CSAT-S videos (4 [IQR 4–5]; p < 0.001). The usability of platform scores for YouTube was significantly higher than WebSurg and C-SATS videos (p < 0.001). Scores for video components, intraoperative techniques and other information were higher across WebSurg and YouTube videos when compared to C-SATS (p < 0.001); however, there was no significant difference between WebSurg and YouTube for each domain.
Conclusion
The overall educational quality of online robotic TME videos was found to be generally heterogeneous, with WebSurg and YouTube videos demonstrating higher scores based on the checklist. A new quality assessment tool has been proposed for robotic TME videos, which has the potential to improve the reliability and value of published video research.
This study aims to assess the quality of educational surgical videos for robotic total mesorectal excision (TME), across widely used open-source platforms, using a newly designed quality assessment checklist.
Methods
The checklist was developed by using existing society guidelines, such as the European Academy of Robotic Colorectal Surgery, comprising four key sections: (i) usability of the platform, (ii) video component, (iii) intraoperative techniques and (iv) other information (including case presentation and outcomes). Videos were identified using the search terms ‘Robotic TME’ from surgical education platforms (WebSurg, C-SATS and Touch Surgery) and YouTube, between January 2016 and July 2024. All videos displaying robotic TME were reviewed and scored using the quality assessment tool (/12), and the videos across the platforms were subsequently compared.
Results
A total of 113 videos were scored using the checklist: 63 surgical education platform (10 WebSurg and 53 C-SATS) and 50 YouTube videos. The total median checklist score achieved by WebSurg (9 [IQR 8–9] and YouTube videos (8 [IQR 7–10]) was significantly higher than CSAT-S videos (4 [IQR 4–5]; p < 0.001). The usability of platform scores for YouTube was significantly higher than WebSurg and C-SATS videos (p < 0.001). Scores for video components, intraoperative techniques and other information were higher across WebSurg and YouTube videos when compared to C-SATS (p < 0.001); however, there was no significant difference between WebSurg and YouTube for each domain.
Conclusion
The overall educational quality of online robotic TME videos was found to be generally heterogeneous, with WebSurg and YouTube videos demonstrating higher scores based on the checklist. A new quality assessment tool has been proposed for robotic TME videos, which has the potential to improve the reliability and value of published video research.
Date Issued
2025-05-24
Date Acceptance
2025-05-08
Citation
International Journal of Colorectal Disease: clinical and molecular gastroenterology and surgery, 2025, 40
ISSN
0179-1958
Publisher
Springer
Journal / Book Title
International Journal of Colorectal Disease: clinical and molecular gastroenterology and surgery
Volume
40
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40411600
PII: 10.1007/s00384-025-04914-w
Subjects
Educational video
Robotic total mesorectal excision
Surgical video platforms
Video quality assessment
Robotic Surgical Procedures
Humans
Video Recording
Checklist
Rectum
Health Personnel
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Germany
Article Number
127
Date Publish Online
2025-05-24