Presentation Description
Institution: St George Private Hospital - NSW, Australia
Purpose:
Robotic surgery holds significant promise however varies from traditional surgery; understanding the robotic surgical technique and its learning curve allows us to define training protocols and set proficiency standards [1].
To identify institutional trends during the initial two years after introduction of a robotic surgery platform and explore surgical outcomes at different phases of the learning curve.
Methods:
A retrospective case series from a single institution’s prospectively collected database (01/2019-07/2021) was performed to investigate the three major robotic procedures performed: robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP), robotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy (RALH) and robotic-assisted abdominal rectopexy (RAAR). Learning Curves were visualised using the Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) method.
Results:
In our patient cohort (N=401), three phases of the learning curve were delineated: learning, accumulation of experience and mastery. Statistically significant differences in operative time between the learning and mastery phases were identified for RALP (p<0.05) and RAAR (p<0.05), but not for RALH (p = 0.07). No significant differences were identified for length of stay and number of ICU admissions.
Conclusion:
We suggest the differences in learning curves between procedures are due to factors such as increasing choice of complex cases and training of newer surgeons on the new platform over time. There was no significant compromise on patient safety or surgical outcomes at each of the different phases of the learning curve.
Reference:
1.Kaul, S., N.L. Shah, and M. Menon, Learning curve using robotic surgery. Curr Urol Rep, 2006. 7(2): p. 125-9.
Presenters
Authors
Authors
Dr Kavina Sidhu - , Dr Mathushan Thevaraja - , Dr Sukrit Khanna - , Dr Daniel Leonard Chan - , A/Prof Michael Leonard Talbot -
