Dr. Gamer
When Timothy Opperman began his residency at Mercy Hospital, he didn't think his penchant for "Madden NFL" and "Final Fantasy" would help him save lives. But new research suggests that video games might help surgeons when they go into the cutting room.
A study released last month by the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York found that experienced surgeons who shot virtual characters on a television screen immediately before performing a laparoscopy procedure made fewer errors than those without the video game warm-up.
Laparoscopies are small incision surgeries generally performed with a doctor looking at a two-dimensional screen while performing the operation. Hand-eye coordination is key. More accurate incisions lead to less complications and shorter recovery times, doctors say.
And today's generation of surgical residents like Opperman, 28, of Penn Hills, are reaping the benefits of the "Donkey Kong" era, local experts say.
"I can tell the guys that actually play the video games clearly have better eye-hand coordination that those that don't," said Dr. Harry Sell, chairman of the department of surgery at Mercy Hospital, where Opperman works.
Sell has even recommended in a "half-joking, half-serious" manner that his residents hone up on laparoscopy skills by playing video games.
"At some point in time, it might not be a bad idea for us to hook up some video games in the lounge so people can warm up before they go into the operating room," he said.
Of course, most of today's surgical residents are no strangers to the likes of "Grand Theft Auto" and "Mario Kart."
Opperman has been playing for more than 20 years.
"I have older brothers and sisters, so when I was 4 or 5, I was playing the Atari," he said.
The future operating room will likely be composed of doctors like Opperman who grew up developing skills perfectly adaptable to performing laparoscopies.
"We do seem to have a higher level of competence in the residents that are coming through," said Dr. Tim Kane, director of minimally invasive surgery at Children's Hospital in Oakland. "They seem to be more natural at it."
Today's generation is brought up being able to look at a screen and use tools to manipulate what is going on, he said.
"My 6-year-old can operate a mouse better than I can," Kane said.
Although Sell hasn't quite realized his video game lounge idea, Mercy Hospital does utilize similar technology with the use of laparoscopy simulators.
Residents can practice their surgical skills without carving into tissue and risking error, Sell said, though the simulators aren't used as surgery warm-up tools.
"We don't routinely use it to warm up before cases ... but we sort of go in whenever we can to practice our skills," said third-year surgical resident Joseph Houda. It's especially convenient because the demands of being a resident mean less time can be devoted to racing around a virtual track on his NASCAR game, he said.
"I think spending time on the simulator before immediately going in would also show beneficial effects," Houda said.
Technologies are rapidly developing, and in the future, residents could be practicing laparoscopies while waiting for the bus, Kane said.
"The thought of being able to put it onto your PDA to learn the skills is something on the horizon," he said.
But first, somewhere between sleep and study, residents will have to find some one-on-one time with their favorite video game console on their own.
The medical benefits of video games might not be isolated to the ones performing the surgery. Child development specialists report that video games can aid in the recovery process of hospitalized children and adolescents.
"Video games kind of provide a very helpful release," said Krista Burgbacher, a child life specialist at Children's Hospital in Oakland.
"It's normalizing ... You know they're used to having them at home, and they like to play them with their friends," said Sherry Rectenwald, a child development specialist at Mercy Hospital.
Both Children's and Mercy hospitals have Child Life programs that provide activities and support networks for hospitalized patients into their early 20s. And video games have been a part of the programs since the Atari era.
"We try to relieve the stress of hospitalization and try to provide the children with stimulating activities, things to do," Rectenwald said.
Children's has a large selection of titles, "pretty much anything a kid can imagine," Burgbacher said. "We obviously don't use the mature-rated games."
The programs also offer other activities and arts and crafts, Burgbacher and Rectenwald stressed.
"We don't want them just sitting in front of video games all day long," Burgbacher said, but "for kids who are not mobile or in a lot of pain, it does work very well for them."
