General Surgery 4.0 - A Systematic Review of Extended Reality Interventions in General Surgery.
Mikolaj R Kowal, Thomas Williams, Alexios Dosis et al.
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In 30 seconds
This systematic review examined extended reality (XR) interventions for pre-operative planning, navigation, or patient experience in adults undergoing general surgery. A search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane identified 26 studies involving 1142 patients. Liver resection was the most studied procedure (11 studies, 42%); reported XR use was associated with significant reductions in length of stay, blood loss, operative time, and complication rates, with improved clinical outcomes reported only in liver resection. Across five studies assessing patient experience, XR significantly improved anxiety, pain, and mood scores.
Key findings
- The review included 26 studies and 1142 patients; liver resection accounted for 11 studies (42%).
- For liver resection, XR interventions showed significant reductions in length of stay, blood loss, operative time, and complication rates.
- Improved clinical outcomes were reported only for patients undergoing liver resection.
- Five studies (19%) reported significant improvements in anxiety, pain, and mood scores with XR.
Why it matters
XR may support peri-operative planning and patient experience, but the evidence of improved clinical outcomes in this review was confined to liver resection. The findings therefore suggest potential rather than established benefit across general surgery. Variable reporting and time-consuming manual image segmentation also highlight practical and evidentiary issues relevant to evaluating and implementing these technologies.
What to keep in mind
The review used a narrative approach, and reporting of XR technology, assessment, and future development was variable. Evidence of improved clinical outcomes was limited to liver resection.