Video Games For Surgeons

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

A recent study from Iowa State University shows that surgeons who have a history of playing video games as a hobby may be faster and more accurate when performing video assisted surgery! This doesn't mean your game-maniac is going to be the world's next great video surgeon -- but video game skill does correlate with laparoscopic surgery skill.

Laparoscopic surgery uses video technology to help doctors operate through a small incision in the body, which helps reduce healing time and scarring.

More than thirty surgeons and surgical residents took part in the two day laparoscopic surgery workshop that produced these results. Fifty-eight percent of the surgeons reported that they had played video games in their lives -- some for eight years or more. At the height of their gaming habits, half the players said they played three hours or more per week.

Part of the workshop included tests that judged laparoscopy surgery speed and accuracy. The surgeons who spent the most time playing video games (three hours or more per week) were the fastest and most accurate at the laparoscopy tests! They were nearly thirty percent faster than the other surgeons, and nearly forty percent more accurate.

Towards the end of the two day workshop, the surgeons were tested on three different video games. Again, the top scorers were those who'd done the best on the laparoscopy tests. But... this doesn't mean you should be asking your surgeon about his or her gaming habits before your next operation. Video games are a great tool for helping surgeons achieve higher skill levels, but that doesn't mean a surgeon who doesn't play games isn't a good surgeon!

One more thing... Don't let your kids use this to talk you into more hours of game time -- too much sedentary time playing video games (or watching television) can be linked to childhood weight problems and other health issues. And the successful surgeons played only three hours per week.

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Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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