COVID-19 reduced scleral buckling training in fellows and shifted young ophthalmologists' preference toward vitrectomy: An Asia-Pacific survey

Wu PY 1 , Fung AT 2 , Dave VP 3 , Iu LPL 4 , Sjahreza E 5 , Chaikitmongkol V 6 Show all authors , Sivagurunathan PD 7 , Ahn J 8 , Misra DK 9 , Wong CW 10 , Chou HD 11

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Medical Education, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Branch, Taoyuan, Taiwan
  • 2 Westmead and Central (Save Sight Institute) Clinical Schools, Specialty of Clinical Ophthalmology and Eye Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • 3 Smt. Kanuri Santhamma Center for Vitreoretinal Diseases, Anant Bajaj Retina Institute Kallam Anji Reddy Campus, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India
  • 4 Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, China
  • 5 Klinik Mata Nusantara EyeCare, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • 6 Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
  • 7 Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, Malaysian Ministry of Health, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
  • 8 Department of Ophthalmology, Metropolitan Government Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
  • 9 Vitreo-Retina Services, Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya, Guwahati, Assam, India
  • 10 Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, Singapore
  • 11 Department of Ophthalmology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Branch, Taoyuan, Taiwan
Clin Exp Ophthalmol, 2023 Aug;51(6):585-597.
PMID: 37170410 DOI: 10.1111/ceo.14236

Abstract

BACKGROUND: To assess rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) surgery trends and training among young ophthalmologists (YOs, vitreoretinal fellows or attendings/consultants with ≤10 years of independent practice) and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS: An anonymous online survey was completed by 117 YOs in the Asia-Pacific regarding their RRD surgery experiences in 2021-2022.

RESULTS: To achieve a 90% probability of surgical competency, 91 vitrectomy and 34 scleral buckling (SB) completions during fellowship were needed. In total, 49 (41.9%) YOs had fellowship affected by COVID-19. In the COVID versus pre-COVID era, however, the volume of SB completions per fellowship year decreased significantly (median [IQR] 3.3 [1.5, 9] vs. 13 [6.5, 23]; p 

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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