Filming in theatre
A good day filming in theatre, thanks to Arthrex and Device Technologies. I am looking forward to seeing the final cut.
Filming surgical technique is how it gets taught at scale. A video can be watched by surgeons anywhere, repeatedly and at the point they need it, which no single course can match.
How surgical video is used in teaching
Edited operative video has become standard teaching material in orthopaedics. It is played at courses and congresses, used alongside cadaveric sessions, and held in instructional libraries that surgeons consult when they are preparing to perform a procedure. Its value is that it shows the things a written description leaves out: the order of the steps, how the instruments are held and passed, where the surgeon is looking at each moment, and what the tissue actually looks like rather than how it is drawn. Because it can be paused and replayed, a surgeon can work through a difficult step as many times as needed. Individual results vary.
What filming an operation involves
Recording in an operating theatre has to be arranged so that it does not interfere with the operation or with the sterile field. Camera positions are planned in advance, and for keyhole surgery the view from the arthroscope is recorded directly from the stack rather than filmed off a screen. Lighting, sound and the angle needed to show a step clearly all have to be managed around the surgical team. Patient consent is required before an operation is recorded, and footage intended for teaching is edited so that the patient cannot be identified.
Why technique teaching is done this way
A surgeon can only attend a limited number of courses, and a course can only take a limited number of participants. Video reaches surgeons who could not travel, and it reaches them at the moment of use, which is usually the week before a case rather than months earlier at a meeting. It does not replace hands-on teaching, since a procedure still has to be practised on specimens and performed under supervision, but it carries the descriptive part of the teaching much further than a lecture can.