The Usefulness of YouTube Videos Related to Endoscopic Sinus Surgery for Surgical Residents

Objective The use of online teaching modalities to supplement surgical learning has increased recently, demonstrating promising results. Previous studies have analyzed the value and usefulness of YouTube as an educational source to learners, including teaching surgical skills to Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) trainees. YouTube videos on endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) still need to be explored as ESS remains a common, yet challenging surgery that OHNS residents encounter regularly. This study aimed to objectively evaluate the usefulness of YouTube videos on ESS for surgical education.

Design YouTube was searched using the following keywords: “uncinectomy,” “maxillary antrostomy,” “anterior ethmoidectomy,” and “ethmoid bulla resection.” These represent the initial ESS steps residents learn. Each video was assessed for eligibility by two independent reviewers.

Outcome Measures The LAParoscopic surgery Video Educational Guidelines (LAP-VEGaS) and ESS-specific criteria were used to assess educational quality. Video popularity index (VPI) was used to calculate video popularity.

Results Of the 38 videos that met inclusion criteria, the average LAP-VEGaS score was 6.59 (± ) 3.23 standard deviation. Most videos were designated low quality. There was a weak positive correlation between whether a video included ESS-specific criteria and LAP-VEGaS score (r = 0.269, p = 0.102). There was a significant positive correlation between VPI and LAP-VEGaS scores (r = 0.497, p = 0.003).

Conclusions Overall, the quality of included videos was poor. OHNS residents should not rely solely or primarily on YouTube videos to learn surgical skills relevant to ESS. To maximize potential of online teaching, high-quality videos should be used to compliment other methods of teaching.