Educational value of YouTube surgical videos of thulium laser enucleation of the prostate (ThuLEP): The quality assessment

Background: To assess the educational value of YouTube surgical videos of thulium laser enucleation of the prostate (ThuLEP).Methods: A comprehensive search of "ThuLEP" or "thulium laser enucleation of the prostate" was performed on YouTube on October 31, 2020. According to the LAParoscopic surgery Video Educational GuidelineS, we created a checklist to assess the educational value of these videos. The checklist included 20 options. Each option represented one point. The total score was the sum of all the points. The higher score represents the higher educational value.Results: A total of 70 videos were included. The average number of views were 1,366 (range, 11-30,884). The mean video length was 16.59 mins (range, 1.20-70.35 mins). Only 22.9% (16/70) videos had audio or/and written commentary in English language. Although 67.4% (47/70) videos were present step by step, only 21.4% (15/70) videos did the detailed explanation of critical steps. The mean score of the videos was 5.5 points (range, 1-15). No videos met all the points of the checklist. The mean percentage conformity of the videos was 28% (range, 5-75%). The educational score of the videos had no significant positive correlation with the number of views.Conclusions: The majority of ThuLEP videos on YouTube platform have low educational value. Videos often lack important and detailed explanations about surgical procedures. The ThuLEP learner should watch these videos selectively. These findings remind us that a global effort should be made to improve the educational value of YouTube surgical videos, and more reporting guidelines about urological endoscopic surgery are still needed.