What is the place of wrist arthroscopy in surgical residents’ training? Wrist Arthroscopy in Residents Survey (WARS)

Abstract

IntroductionWrist arthroscopy has become an essential method in the management of patients suffering from wrist pathologies. This technique must be mastered by residents wishing to specialize in upper limb surgery. However, no study has evaluated residents’ access to wrist arthroscopy. HypothesisResidents have difficulty accessing wrist arthroscopy surgery during their training. Materials and methodsWe sent out an online questionnaire to all orthopedic and plastic surgery referents in France. Data were collected over a 6-month period from December 2020 to May 2021. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed. ResultsRegarding the 98 responses obtained, we observed that 77.54% of residents have seen between 0 and 10 wrist arthroscopies and 35.71% have never seen a wrist arthroscopy. In addition, only 23.80% of residents have had access to training on cadavers, and 57.14% of residents were trained in private facilities. DiscussionAccess to the operating room remains difficult for residents in upper limb surgery. Our results suggest that wrist arthroscopy training could be improved. New training methods could be adapted for wrist arthroscopy and to overcome the lack of access to wrist arthroscopy for residents. Level of incidenceIV.