Use of procedure specific preoperative warm-up during surgical priming improves operative outcomes: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND:Preoperative warm-up in preparation for surgery is a technique used in recognition of similarities between surgeons and performance based professionals. The aim of this review was to evaluate the use of simulation-based preoperative warm-up on surgical performance in the operating room and its impact on both clinical and patient outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS:A systematic review of the literature was carried out in accordance with PRISMA guidelines between August-September 2021. In total 15 studies were retrieved. RESULTS:Seven studies across general surgery, urology, and vascular surgery used a procedure specific warm-up, with significant improvement in operative performance, rate of errors, radiological and patient-based outcomes. Variables including level of experience and specialty appeared to have no impact on the merits of preoperative warm-up demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS:While heterogeneity in the benefit of generic warm-up procedures was noted, procedure specific warm-up methods consistently resulted in significantly better operative outcomes.