Live surgery: National survey of United Kingdom ophthalmologists

A questionnaire survey with forced-choice and free-text items was sent to 856 United Kingdom ophthalmology consultants to ascertain their views on live surgery (ie, direct transmission of surgery from an operating room into a conference hall). The response rate was 63%. The 2 most popular answers for the benefits of live surgery were that it demonstrated surgical practice unedited (65% of respondents) and was interesting to watch (60%). The 2 most commonly stated disadvantages were that the surgeon was placed under greater stress (92%) and that such surgery was conducted with unfamiliar operating rooms/equipment/staff (91%). The complication rate was perceived to be higher than the background rate by 68% of respondents. Sixty-eight percent said there were no teaching benefits that could not be delivered by edited video recordings. Eighty-three percent thought that live surgery was not in the patient's best interest, and 64% thought it should not continue to be performed. The results suggest a need for detailed guidance and standards for the conduct of live surgical demonstrations.