Music is frequently played in operating theatres; however, the impact of music on surgeons is contentious. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of music genre and amplitude on laparoscopic surgery.

The speed and accuracy of novice surgeons performing laparoscopic surgery was investigated with no music, with music played at medium volume (45—50 dB) and with music played at high volume (65—70 dB). Soft rock by The Beatles and hard rock by AC/DC were evaluated.

When AC/DC was playing at medium volume in the background, the time taken for surgeons to perform a precision cut was reduced compared to without music (139.4 versus 235.8 seconds, P = 0.0009) and accuracy was preserved. Listening to hard rock music at high volume also increased speed compared to no music. Furthermore, the total scores of participants improved (516.5 versus 437.1, P = 0.002).

With The Beatles playing at medium volume peg transfer was faster (60.3 versus 56.7 seconds, P = 0.012) and suture with intracorporeal knot was more accurate (79.2 versus 54.0, P = 0.011) compared to no music. Furthermore, the total score was enhanced by improving accuracy (79.5 versus 54.0, P = 0.011) however, this favourable effect was not observed if the soft rock was played at high volumes.

The authors of the study conclude “our data reveal that the effect of music on laparoscopic performance might depend on the combination of music genre and amplitude. A generally well-accepted music genre in the right volume could improve the performance of novice surgeons during laparoscopic surgeries.”

Although the study only looked at novice surgeons and laparoscopic surgeries, it raises the question; could the same outcomes be observed in other surgeon demographics and other surgical specialties such as reconstructive knee replacement?