UTILITY OF SMARTPHONE IN CAPTURING LAPAROSCOPIC CHOLECYSTECTOMY: A COST-EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE

Introduction: These days the use of multimedia recording is prevalent in healthcare systems. Surgical procedures are being recorded all over the world for coaching purpose and it also aid in assessing surgeons performance to improve patient care quality, sharing rare operative finding with colleagues so providing better way of communication among surgeons and above all, this act of video recording is also a stress reliever for the operating surgeon too by rewinding the video in order to search for any lost gauze piece during surgery to avoid medical negligence. Material & Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at Government Tehsil Headquarter (THQ) Hospital Sabzazar, Lahore from May 2021 to September 2023. The study included 226 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. All laparoscopic cholecystectomies were captured by smartphone camera, mounted on a tripod stand. Time required for video recording apparatus setting was recorded. Additional equipment and staff needed for recording was noted. Utility in terms of video image quality, zoom capability, resolution and recorded videos sufficient for coaching purposes was assessed by independent respondent by using 5-point Likert scale. Results: Time required for video recording apparatus setting was 3.62±1.01 minutes. 5-point Likert scale score of video image quality, zoom capability and resolution were 5, 5 and 5, respectively. Recorded videos sufficient for coaching purposes had a score of 4. No additional equipment and staff were needed for recording in the operating room. Overall utility of smartphone cameras in capturing laparoscopic cholecystectomy was 4.75. Conclusion: A remarkable video of laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be captured by using smartphone camera which can later be availed for teaching and training purposes of medical students.