Study suggests video game experience may be linked with better laparoscopic surgical task performance
A systematic review found the association, when present, was mainly in laparoscopic skills and before structured training.
High evidenceReview
Medical disclaimer: This article summarizes research findings and is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice.
Editorial illustration — not from the study.
Researchers searched five databases (through 29 November 2024) for comparative studies that measured surgical performance outcomes (such as time to complete a task, error rate, accuracy, and economy of motion) in people with different levels of video game experience.
When results were organized by surgical modality, laparoscopic studies most often showed advantages for video game–experienced surgeons in overall score and time to task completion, and accuracy favored gamers in two studies that reported it. Error rate and economy of motion findings were inconsistent or mostly not significant, and nonlaparoscopic modalities showed no meaningful association in the included studies.
What the review examined
The review question was whether video game experience among surgeons is associated with surgical performance outcomes across laparoscopic, robotic, and other surgical modalities, and what that might mean for surgical training and education. The authors included comparative studies that reported performance data for surgeons with differing video game experience; the final set included 15 studies with 641 participants (1 randomized controlled trial and 14 nonrandomized studies).
What the review concluded
Across laparoscopic studies, video gaming experience was associated with improved overall score and faster time to complete tasks, predominantly in the period before structured training interventions. Accuracy findings, in the two laparoscopic studies that reported this outcome, consistently favored video game–experienced participants. Error rate and economy of motion were inconsistent or predominantly nonsignificant. For nonlaparoscopic modalities, the review reports no meaningful association. The authors could not perform a quantitative meta-analysis because study designs and outcome measures varied.
Where this may apply
These findings may be most relevant to surgical training contexts that involve laparoscopic skill development, particularly when assessing performance before structured technical training. They do not directly establish what should be done in patient care or in surgical training programs, and the review does not provide evidence of meaningful associations across nonlaparoscopic modalities. Because the included evidence has substantial risk of bias and was too heterogeneous for pooling, applicability to specific training decisions is uncertain.
What this could mean
For people who train or oversee surgical education, the review highlights a potential link between an accessible, low-cost activity (video gaming) and certain early performance aspects in laparoscopic tasks. Because the review’s included studies were mostly nonrandomized and judged at moderate or serious risk of bias, these findings should be interpreted cautiously and do not establish that video gaming causes improved surgical skill.
Limitations & evidence assessment
Key limitations noted by the review and those implied by the design include: (1) 14 of 15 included studies were nonrandomized, and all nonrandomized studies were judged to have moderate or serious risk of bias; (2) the single randomized controlled trial was also judged to have serious risk of bias; (3) results varied across studies in design and outcome measures, so the review could not run a quantitative synthesis; (4) the abstract provides limited detail on the individual study characteristics and how video game experience was measured; and (5) the evidence suggests any association may be restricted to laparoscopic tasks and the pre-structured-training period, limiting broader conclusions.
Why this evidence level: Systematic review aggregating primary studies with explicit methodology.
Evidence levels are editorial estimates derived from study metadata — they are not clinical appraisals.
// Source
Journal of surgical education · 2026 · DOI: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2026.104076
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