Effects of Visual Stress on Postural Control during Simulated Laparoscopy: A Preliminary Study.

Intraoperative stress can influence both surgeon health and patient outcomes, however stress management is not properly assessed during surgical training. Seven healthy, novice individuals participated in an experiment involving precision pin transfers using laparoscopic surgical instruments. A visual stressor introduced by altering the digital blur in a real-time video display (none, low, and high) was hypothesized to influence postural control and task performance. Preliminary descriptive analyses indicated a negative influence of the visual stressor on performance (i.e., pins transferred per minute), however the effects on postural control (i.e., linear accelerations at the forehead and center of pressure displacements) varied between participants, suggesting individuals differ in the magnitude of response to environmental stressors. Implications for surgical training and real-time measurement of intraoperative stress are discussed.