A randomised comparative study evaluating learning curves of novices in a basic single-incision laparoscopic surgery task.
Sodergren M., McGregor C., Farne HA., Cao J., Lv Z., Purkayastha S., Athanasiou T., Darzi A., Paraskeva P.
OBJECTIVE: There is currently no objective quantification of the temporal changes in performance associated with a novice surgeon learning single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) operative tasks. Analysing learning curves allows us to objectively quantify performance. The aim was to evaluate if the rate of learning and ultimate proficiency level reached in SILS when using straight or articulating instruments is different to conventional laparoscopy and if training in laparoscopy influences learning or proficiency for SILS. DESIGN AND SETTING: Thirty-six surgically naive medical students were randomised to complete the validated peg transfer task over 50 repetitions using a conventional laparoscopic set-up, SILS set-up with straight instruments or articulated instruments or SILS set-up after having reached proficiency using a conventional laparoscopy. RESULTS: There was a significant increased overall proficiency between the group trained in conventional laparoscopy and all other groups (p