YouTube helping experts learn surgical techniques: study

Many experts are using streaming online media such as YouTube to learn new surgical techniques, researchers, including one of Indian-origin, say.
A survey of American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) members found that most of them had used online streaming media (YouTube) at least once to learn a new technique and most had used those techniques in practice.
For the study, Anita Sethna from Emory University School of Medicine in US and colleagues surveyed 202 AAFPRS members.
The most popular ways to stay current with technical and nontechnical findings included meetings, journals and discussions with colleagues, the study found.

However, 64.1 per cent of respondents said they had used online media at least once to learn a new technique, especially for rhinoplasty and injectable procedures, and 83.1 per cent had used those techniques in their practice, researchers said.
Less experienced surgeons were more likely to have used online streaming media than more experienced surgeons, they said.
"The enthusiasm is not unbridled, however. The internet's ease of access has raised concerns regarding the quality of these sources," researchers said.
The findings were published in the journal JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.