Validation of novel and objective measures of microsurgical skill: Hand‐motion analysis and stereoscopic visual acuity

TLDR

The study aimed to validate stereoscopic visual acuity and hand‑motion analysis as objective measures of microsurgical skill, assessing their predictive, construct, and concurrent validity. Fifty surgical residents performed a standardized microsurgical suturing task under a microscope before and after training, with expert microsurgeons rating performance via global scales and correlating these scores with stereoscopic visual acuity and hand‑motion metrics. Hand‑motion metrics correlated strongly with expert ratings and improved after training, whereas stereoscopic visual acuity did not correlate with ratings, indicating hand‑motion analysis is a valid, sensitive tool but the predictive validity of visual acuity remains unclear. © 2003 Wiley‑Liss, Inc., MICROSURGERY 23:317–322.

Abstract

Abstract Our purposes were: 1) to establish the predictive validity of stereoscopic visual acuity and microsurgical performance, and 2) to establish the construct and concurrent validity of hand‐motion analysis as an objective and sensitive measure of microsurgical performance. Using a surgical microscope, 50 surgical residents completed a standardized microsurgical suturing task at baseline and following microsurgical training. Microsurgical performance was evaluated by blinded, expert microsurgeons using global rating scales. Measures of stereoscopic visual acuity and hand‐motion analysis were correlated with expert global rating scores. Global rating scores correlated significantly with number of hand movements (r = −0.47, P = 0.001) and hand‐travel distance (r = −0.37, P = 0.008). Economy of hand‐motion improved significantly following microsurgical training (number of hand movements, P = 0.046; hand‐travel distance, P = 0.04). Measures of stereoscopic visual acuity did not correlate significantly with global rating scores. Hand‐motion analysis appears to be an objective and sensitive instrument for assessing microsurgical performance, with evidence of both concurrent and construct validity. The predictive validity of stereoscopic visual acuity and microsurgical performance remains unclear. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. MICROSURGERY 23:317–322 2003