Evaluating the Educational Value of YouTube Videos on Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection Using the LAP-VEGaS Scoring System.

Video-based learning is used in surgical education due to its flexibility and cost-effectiveness. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a technically challenging procedure, and YouTube is an important source of educational videos on this topic. The laparoscopic video educational guide and scoring (LAP-VEGaS) system can objectively evaluate the educational quality of these videos. To evaluate the educational quality of the most-viewed ESD videos on YouTube using the LAP-VEGaS score and to examine the relationship between quality and participation metrics. On August 01, 2024, the 20 most popular videos were selected based on view count by searching for "endoscopic submucosal dissection" on YouTube. Two independent evaluators scored the videos using LAP-VEGaS (0-18). Videos scoring 9 or higher were classified as high quality (HQ; n = 12), while those scoring below 9 were classified as low quality (LQ; n = 8). The average number of views for the videos was 20,567 ± 38,269, the time elapsed since upload was 2751 ± 1264 days, the duration was 537 ± 301 s, and the average LAP-VEGaS score was 9.1 ± 5.2. HQ videos were longer (579 ± 295 s vs. 434 ± 190 s; P ≈ 0.08) and had a higher like rate (0.984 ± 0.02 vs. 0.94 ± 0.07; P < 0.05). Strong positive correlations were observed between likes and view rate (r = 0.979; P < 0.001) and video power index (r = 0.984; P < 0.001). Moderate correlations were found between the LAP-VEGaS score and duration (r = 0.515; P = 0.021) and similarity ratio (r = 0.492; P = 0.035). The educational quality of popular ESD videos is heterogeneous, and unlike the number of views, interaction metrics, such as the like/view ratio and video duration, more reliably reflect educational value. Therefore, objective evaluation tools such as LAP-VEGaS are recommended to facilitate the selection of HQ content by educators and learners.