COVID‐19 reduced scleral buckling training in fellows and shifted young ophthalmologists' preference toward vitrectomy: An Asia‐Pacific survey

Background To assess rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) surgery trends and training among young ophthalmologists (YOs, vitreoretinal fellows or attendings/consultants with ≤10 years of independent practice) and the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods An anonymous online survey was completed by 117 YOs in the Asia‐Pacific regarding their RRD surgery experiences in 2021–2022. Results To achieve a 90% probability of surgical competency, 91 vitrectomy and 34 scleral buckling (SB) completions during fellowship were needed. In total, 49 (41.9%) YOs had fellowship affected by COVID‐19. In the COVID versus pre‐COVID era, however, the volume of SB completions per fellowship year decreased significantly (median [IQR] 3.3 [1.5, 9] vs. 13 [6.5, 23]; p