Video games and laparoscopic surgery.

he aim of this study was to determine whether playing video games is associated with improved laparoscopic performance. Participants performed three timed laparoscopic tasks on a pelvic trainer as a pretest. Next, subjects had 10 minutes of playing time on a video game. For the post-test, subjects again performed three timed laparoscopic tasks on the pelvic trainer. Tasks that were performed were intended to measure hand–eye coordination, ambidexterity, and depth perception. Paired-samples t-tests were used to measure differences between the pre- and post-tests: There was a significant difference between pegs that were transferred (p = 0.001) and between the number of pegs dropped (p = 0.013). There was also a significant difference in the pre- and post-tests on cutting open a filled condom (p = 0.008). Last, the number of rubber bands stretched in the pre- and post-tests was significantly different (p = 0.000). In conclusion, playing video games improved laparoscopic skills and time to complete the tasks.