Assessment of YouTube as an online educational tool in teaching laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: A LAP-VEGaS study.

Background: General surgery residents frequently access YouTube® for educational walkthroughs of surgical procedures. The aim of this study is to evaluate the educational quality of YouTube® video walkthroughs on Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) using a validated video assessment tool.

Methods: A retrospective review of YouTube® videos was conducted for "laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass", "laparoscopic RYGB", and "laparoscopic gastric bypass." The top 100 videos from three YouTube® searches were gathered and duplicates were removed. Included videos were categorized as Physician (produced by individual physician), Academic (university/medical school), or Society (professional surgical society) and rated by three independent investigators using the LAParoscopic surgery Video Educational GuidelineS (LAP-VEGaS) video assessment tool (0-18). The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni correction and Spearman's correlation test.

Results: Of 300 videos gathered, 31 unique videos met selection criteria and were analyzed. The average LAP-VEGaS score was 8.67 (SD 3.51). Society videos demonstrated a significantly higher mean LAP-VEGaS score than Physician videos ( = 0.023). Most videos lacked formal case presentation (71%), intraoperative findings (81%), and operative time (76%). No correlation was demonstrated between LAP-VEGaS scores and number of likes or views, video length, or upload date.

Conclusions: LRYGB training videos on YouTube® generally do not adhere to the LAP-VEGaS guidelines and are of poor educational quality, signaling areas of improvement for educators.