Concerns of quality, utility, and reliability of laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer in public video sharing platform

BACKGROUND: The rapid expansion of laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) for gastric cancer has generated interest among surgeons. The adequate dissemination of correct information about such advanced laparoscopic surgery can certainly be useful for surgeons and trainees. Online video resources such as YouTube are frequently used for education. This study aimed to evaluate the quality, utility, and completeness of LG videos for gastric cancer on the video website YouTube. METHODS: The terms “laparoscopic gastrectomy” and “gastric cancer” were searched on YouTube on August 16, 2019. The first 100 videos in three sorting categories (website’s default setting, view count, and length of duration) were checked by two experienced surgeons. The popularity was evaluated with the video power index (VPI). The reliability was measured using the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria. The educational value and completeness were evaluated with a checklist developed by the researchers. RESULTS: A total of 102 videos were analyzed. Laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG) and laparoscopic total gastrectomy were the most frequently recorded techniques. Lymph node (LN) dissection was the most frequently covered topic (89.2%), followed in descending order by GI reconstruction (87.3%). The mean VPI, JAMA benchmark score and completeness score of all videos were 2.63, 1.94 and 8.53, respectively. The types of sources were as follows: private users, 73 (71.6%); academic institutions, 20 (19.6%); and others, 9 (8%). A total of 97 videos with an identifiable primary surgeon originated from eighteen different countries. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic videos represented by YouTube represent a useful and appropriate educational tool. However, the quality of videos varied, and the level of information incompleteness was fairly high due to insufficient reviews. The role of private uploaders and academic institutions in surgical education cannot be overestimated. It is necessary that surgeon trainers and surgical educators critically analyze the quality of video content and exercise responsibility in directing trainee surgeons. In the current era, it is best for trainees to search for peer-reviewed content.