Preparing Operative Video for Morbidity and Mortality Conference

Operative video can help an M&M discussion when it clarifies the sequence and the decision points. It can also overwhelm the room when the case has no clear narrative or the footage is shown without context.

Define the question before selecting the clips

Decide what the conference should learn from the case. The focus may be recognition, communication, technique, systems, or the interaction between several factors. That focus should determine what the audience sees.

Preserve enough context

A short clip without the relevant setup can make a decision look obvious in retrospect. Include the context needed to understand the available information and the constraints at the time.

Separate observation from conclusion

Use annotations to identify what happened before asking why it happened. This makes the discussion more precise and gives residents and faculty a shared reference point.

Keep access and context together

A strong conference workflow keeps the case, its annotations, and its presentation sequence in one controlled place so the right audience can review the same material.