Nurse, Please Hand Me My Laser Sword

Bob Carroll

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Earlier this week I happened to eat at Dave & Buster's in Jacksonville, Florida. For those who have never been to a Dave & Buster's I need to tell you that there were more video games there than tables.

Anyway, I watched (as I ate my Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich) in amazement as all kinds of gamers destroyed armies of beasts, demons, aliens and criminals. Little did I know that I was watching future surgeons in training.

Video games put surgeons on cutting edge, study says

If you're planning to have an operation any time soon, you might want to check out your surgeon's video-game skills.

A new study shows that doctors who play video games are better at performing an increasingly common, minimally invasive medical procedure called laparoscopic surgery.

Also known as keyhole surgery, the procedure employs a microscopic camera and ultra-slim instruments that are inserted into the patient through tiny incisions rather than a big cut associated with traditional operations. The surgeon then guides the instruments by watching his actions on a TV monitor.

"Laparoscopic surgery and video games have a lot in common," said lead researcher James Rosser of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. "They both require the participant to execute tasks utilizing visual cues that are presented on a video monitor or screen."