Virtual Reality Compared with Dry-Lab Training for Technical Skills in Robotic Surgery Simulation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

By
Samy Castillo-Flores
Ricardo E. Nunez-Rocha
Andres A. Abreu
Zachary A. Whitham
Gilbert Z. Murimwa
Morgan F. Pettigrew
Ofelia Negrete-Vasquez
Ganesh Sankaranarayanan
Angela A. Guzzetta
Daniel J. Scott
Herbert J. Zeh
Patricio M. Polanco
October 8, 2026

Surgical Endoscopy

Objective:

To compare virtual reality (VR) and dry-lab (DL) robotic training for technical performance and task completion time among surgical trainees.

Approach:

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis, prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD420250609755) and reported according to PRISMA 2020 and Cochrane guidance.
Search: Searched PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library through August 1, 2026, and checked reference lists.
Eligibility: Included randomized or non-randomized controlled studies comparing VR with physical simulation, including DL or ex vivo models, in surgical trainees and reporting a technical performance measure.

Interpretation:

The authors hypothesized that dry-lab training would yield higher post-training technical performance than virtual reality because of its greater physical fidelity. The supplied context reports methods and rationale but no comparative results.

Limitations:

The supplied article context is truncated during the eligibility criteria and provides no results, included-study details, or risk-of-bias assessment.