Evaluation of quality and utility of YouTube vitreoretinal surgical videos

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the utility and quality of surgical videos posted on the main retinal YouTube channels by surgeons at different career stages and assessed how well the steps of the vitrectomy videos conformed to the parameters in the Casey Eye Institute Vitrectomy Indices Tool for Skills assessment (CEIVITS) scale. METHODS: Forty-five videos were included from nine retinal YouTube channels posted from 2011 to 2021. For each surgeon, 10 videos were randomized and the utility, quality, and educational content were assessed. For each video, the surgeons also assessed how the validated CEIVITS items were presented in the videos. The surgeons were divided based on years of experience: fellows (0–3 years), young surgeons (4–10 years), and senior surgeons (more than 10 years). RESULTS: The video image quality was rated as good in 63.52% of evaluations, moderate in 30.37%, and poor in 6.11%. The quality assessment of the videos among the groups did not differ. The fellows rated the use of the videos as educational tools higher (3.99) than the young (3.87) and senior surgeons (3.47) (p < 0.0002, Kruskal–Wallis test); 34.76% of the fellows reported learning something new from the videos compared with 19.17% of the senior surgeons (p < 0.05). The CEIVITS scale item that was seen more frequently was related to core vitrectomies (72.29%) and the least represented was about checking infusion lines (80.17%). CONCLUSIONS: Vitreoretinal surgical videos are useful educational tools during all stages of surgeons’ careers, and the evaluation of the quality of the images did not differ significantly among the groups, however, surgeons with expertise shorter than 10 years report significantly greater use of videos than experienced surgeons. Videos posted to the public domain on different social media, most often YouTube, are widespread and unregulated for providing complimentary surgical education. Retinal societies should formulate guidelines and improve the educational value of the surgical videos posted on the Internet. Trial Registration The Federal University of São Paulo institution’s Research Ethics Committee reviewed and approved this study protocol (Approval Number, 4.726.589). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40942-022-00360-w.