The Impact of Virtual Reality on the Patients and Providers Experience in Wide-Awake, Local-Only Hand Surgery

PURPOSE: Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology with the potential to enhance patient care by reducing pain and anxiety for a variety of medical procedures. The aim of this study was to evaluate an immersive VR program as a nonpharmacologic intervention to reduce anxiety and increase satisfaction in patients undergoing wide-awake, local-only hand surgery. The secondary aim was to assess providers’ experience with the program. METHODS: An implementation evaluation was employed to assess the experience of 22 patients who used VR during outpatient, wide-awake hand surgery at a veterans affairs hospital. We assessed the patients’ anxiety scores and vital signs before and after the procedure as well as postprocedural satisfaction measures. The providers’ experience was also assessed. RESULTS: Patients who used VR exhibited lower anxiety scores after the procedure compared with what they exhibited before the procedure and had high satisfaction levels with their VR experience. Surgeons who used the system reported that VR improved their ability to teach learners and better focus on the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Virtual reality, as a nonpharmacologic intervention, reduced anxiety and contributed to the patients’ perioperative satisfaction with wide-awake, local-only hand surgery. As a secondary finding, VR positively impacted the providers’ experience by increasing their ability to concentrate on tasks during the surgery. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Virtual reality represents a novel technology that can reduce anxiety and contribute to a positive experience for both patients and providers during wide-awake, local-only hand procedures.