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. 2025 Aug 22;15:30886. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-16227-7

Table 2.

Comparisons between junior (residents and fellows) and experienced (senior) surgeons for their surgical experience and use of virtual reality simulators.

Residents and fellows (group B)
n = 1281
Senior Surgeons (group A)
n = 411
P value
Gender
Females, n(%) 68 (54%) 17 (41%) 0.18
Number of cataract surgeries performed, mean +/- SD 80 +/- 155 4598 +/- 5464 < 0.001*
Simulator used, n (%)
EyeSi only 55 (43%) 19 (46.3%) 0.592
HelpMeSee only 22 (17.2%) 5 (12.2%)
Several simulators 47 (36.7%) 14 (34.1%)
EyeSi and HelpMeSee 43 12
EyeSi and Other 4 2
Other only 4 (3.1%) 3 (7.3%)
Total time spent on simulator (hours), mean +/- SD 28.2 +/- 32.1 151.3 +/- 656.6 0.04*
Highest module reached on EyeSi, n (% from EyeSi users)
CAT-A 74 (73%) 20 (61%)
CAT-B 59 (58%) 14 (42%)
CAT-C 51 (50%) 13 (39%)
CAT-D 38 (37%) 16 (48%) 0.05*
VRT-A 11 (11%) 7 (21%)
VRT-B 5 (4.9%) 7 (21%)
VRT-C 4 (3.9%) 6 (18%) 0.05*
Module passed on HelpMeSee, n (% from HelpMeSee users)
MSICS module 50 (77%) 13 (76%) 0.4
PHACO module 10 (15%) 7 (41%) 0.09
Complications module 10 (15%) 5 (29%) 0.4
Suturing module 10 (15%) 6 (35%) 0.2
MOST module 4 (6.2%) 4 (24%) 0.08
Mean simulation time (hours) in participants who have reached/passed:
CAT-D EyeSi 45 +/- 43.1 (n = 35) 59.7 +/- 67.7 (n = 14) 0.36
VRT-C EyeSi 47.5 +/- 37.7 (n = 4) 67 +/- 91.9 (n = 6) 0.7
MSICS module HelpMeSee 42.3 +/- 40.2 (n = 44) 496 +/- 1314 (n = 9) 0.02*
PHACO module HelpMeSee 18.4 +/- 15.5 (n = 7) 52.8 +/- 54.9 (n = 5) 0.14
Complication module HelpMeSee 38.6 +/- 15.3 (n = 5) 48 +/- 48.5 (n = 3) 0.69
Suturing module HelpMeSee 34.8 +/- 23.9 (n = 5) 53.5 +/- 41.1 (n = 4) 0.42
Estimated impact of simulation training on OR performances (from 0 to 10), mean +/- SD 5.8 +/- 3.3 4.5 +/- 3.8 0.032*
Favorable to surgical license, n (%) 68 (53.1%) 25 (61%) 0.38
Preferred simulator, n (%)
EyeSi 22 (35%) 5 (25%) 0.473
HelpMeSee 27 (42.9%) 12 (60%)
Several 1 (1.6%) 0
Other 1 (1.6%) 0
No preference 12 (19%) 3 (15%)

CAT, cataract surgery; Phaco, phacoemulsification; MOST, Mechanics of Ophthalmic Surgery – Tissues, Tools, Thoughts; MSICS, Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery; OR, operating room; SD, standard deviation; VRT, vitreoretinal surgery.

*Statistically significant Pour les moyennes : Independent samples Student t tests.

1One from the 170 respondents did not indicate his position.

2“Other only” was excluded as number of responses < 5, which is under the recommended marginal count for the validity of the independent Chi2 test.

3“Other only” and “Several” were excluded as number of responses < 5, which is under the recommended marginal count for the validity of the independent Chi2 test.