The effect of residents as teaching assistants on operative time in laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Development of a prospective biliary dashboard to compare performance and surgical cost

BACKGROUND

Transparency around surgeon level data may align healthcare delivery with quality care for patients. Biliary surgery includes numerous procedures performed by both general surgeons and subspecialists alike. Cholecystectomy is a common surgical procedure and an optimal cohort to measure quality outcomes within a healthcare system.

METHODS

Data were collected for 5084 biliary operations performed by 68 surgeons in 11 surgical divisions in a health system including a tertiary academic hospital, two regional community hospitals, and two ambulatory surgery centers. A privacy protected dashboard was developed to compare surgeon performance and cost between July 2018 and June 2022. A sample cohort of patients ≥ 18 years who underwent cholecystectomy were compared by operative time, cost, and 30-day outcomes.

RESULTS

Over 4 years, 4568 cholecystectomy procedures were performed by 57 surgeons. Operations were done by 57 surgeons in four divisions and included 3846 (84.2%) laparoscopic cholecystectomies, 601 (13.2%) laparoscopic cholecystectomies with cholangiogram, and 121 (2.6%) open cholecystectomies. Patients were admitted from the emergency room in 2179 (47.7%) cases while 2389 (52.3%) cases were performed in the ambulatory setting. Individual surgeons were compared to peers for volume, intraoperative data, cost, and outcomes. Cost was lowest at ambulatory surgery centers, yet only 4.2% of elective procedures were performed at these facilities. Prepackaged kits with indocyanine green were more expensive than cholangiograms that used iodinated contrast. The rate of emergency department visits was lowest when cases were performed at ambulatory surgery centers.

CONCLUSION

Data generated from clinical dashboards can inform surgeons as to how they compare to peers regarding quality metrics such as cost, time, and complications. In turn, this may guide strategies to standardize care, optimize efficiency, provide cost savings, and improve outcomes for cholecystectomy procedures. Future application of clinical dashboards can assist surgeons and administrators to define value-based care.

Impact of Resident Post-Graduate Year on Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Outcomes

Introduction Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a minimal access procedure in which the gallbladder is removed by laparoscopic techniques. Effective training for laparoscopic surgery should focus on not only understanding the anatomy and procedural steps but also acquiring the specific gestures and techniques of this type of surgery that may differ from those used in traditional open surgery. The aim of our study was to analyze whether the laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed by surgeons in training is a safe procedure. Material and methods This is a retrospective review of 433 patients who were divided into two groups: laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed by trainees and those performed by senior surgeons. Results Around 66% of surgeries were performed by resident surgeons. There was no demographic difference between residents and senior surgeons. Operative time was significantly longer in the residents' group compared to senior surgeons' group (96 minutes vs 61 minutes; p<0.001). The overall intra- and post-operative complication rates were 3.1% and 2.5%, respectively, with no significant difference between the two groups (p=0.368 and p=0.223). Conversion to open laparotomy was required in 8% of cases in each group (p=0.538). The mean length of hospital stay after surgery was significantly longer in patients operated by residents (p<0.001). We did not notice any case of mortality in both groups.

Operative time tracking for umbilical hernia patients

BACKGROUND

Army medical treatment facilities (MTFs) use a surgery scheduling system that reviews historical OR times to dictate expected procedural time when posting new cases. At a single military institution there was a noted inflation to umbilical hernia repair (UHR) times that was leading to issues with under-utilized operating rooms.

METHODS

This is a retrospective review determining what variables correlate with longer UHR operative time. Umbilical, ventral, epigastric, and incisional hernia repairs (both open and laparoscopic) were pulled from the local OR scheduling system at Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center from January 2013 to June 2018.

RESULTS

A total of 442 patients were included in the study with a mean age of 45.74 years and 54.98% male. Patient ASA level (p 0.045), primary vs. mesh repair (p < 0.001), number of hernias repaired (p 0.05), hernia size (p < 0.001), and absence of student nurse anesthetist (SRNA) (p 0.05) all correlated with longer UHR OR times. For the aggregated open hernia repair data, almost all independent variables of interest were statistically significant including age, PGY level, history of DM, case acuity, presence of SRNA, patient ASA level, patient's BMI, hernia defect size, number of hernias, history of prior repair, and history prior abdominal surgery. Multivariate regression analysis was done on the open hernia repair variables with only age and size of hernia being significant.

CONCLUSION

This data were used to create a new case request option (open UHR without mesh and open UHR with mesh) to more effectively utilize available OR time.

Attending Surgeon Influences Operative Time More Than Resident Level in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

BACKGROUND

Prior studies on laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) have concluded that resident involvement lengthens operative time without impacting outcomes. However, the lack of effect of resident level on operative duration has not been explained. We hypothesized that attending-specific influence on average operative time for LC is more pronounced than resident post-graduate year level.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed all LC cases performed on patients 18 y and older between November 2018 and March 2020 at 2 academic medical center-affiliated hospitals. Regression models were used to compare operative times, conversion to open rates, and complication rates by attending surgeon and resident level.

RESULTS

Nine hundred twenty-five LCs were performed over the study period, 862 (93.1%) with resident participation. Of the 44.5% variation in operative time was explained by differences in attending surgeon, as compared to 11.0% attributable to differences in resident level (P < 0.0001). This effect persisted after adjusting for patient and disease factors (33.0% versus 7.1%, P < 0.0001). Neither attending surgeon (P = 0.80), nor the level of the involved resident (P = 0.94) demonstrated a significant effect on the conversion-to-open rate (4.9%). Similarly, neither the attending surgeon (P = 0.33), nor resident level (P = 0.81) significantly affected the complication rate (8.58%).

CONCLUSIONS

Operative time for LC is primarily determined by patient- and disease-specific factors; resident level has no effect on conversion to open or complication rates. Attending influence on operative time was more pronounced than resident level influence. These findings suggest attending surgeon-related factors are more important than resident experience in determining operative duration for LC.

Establishing consensus on the perioperative management of cholecystectomy in public hospitals: a Delphi study with an expert panel in Mexico

BACKGROUND

Several guidelines have put forward recommendations about the perioperative process of cholecystectomy. Despite the recommendations, controversy remains concerning several topics, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to develop uniform recommendations for perioperative practices in cholecystectomy in Mexico to standardize this process and save public health system resources.

METHODS

A modified Delphi method was used. An expert panel of 23 surgeons anonymously completed two rounds of responses to a 29-item questionnaire with 110 possible answers. The consensus was assessed using the percentage of responders agreeing on each question.

RESULTS

From the 29 questions, the study generated 27 recommendations based on 20 (69.0%) questions reaching consensus, one that was considered uncertain (3.4%), and six (20.7%) items that remained open questions. In two (6.9%) cases, no consensus was reached, and no recommendation could be made.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides recommendations for the perioperative management of cholecystectomy in public hospitals in Mexico. As a guide for public institutions in low- and middle-income countries, the study identifies recommendations for perioperative tests and evaluations, perioperative decision making, postoperative interventions and institutional investment, that might ensure the safe practice of cholecystectomy and contribute to conserving resources.

Evaluating the impact of resident involvement during the laparoscopic nephrectomy

Introduction

Laparoscopic nephrectomy (LN) is the most performed laparoscopic procedure by urologic residents (Res). A large amount of data exists on laparoscopic nephrectomies in terms of safety and surgical outcomes, but only a little is known about the influence of residents. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this influence on the clinical outcome of a laparoscopic nephrectomy.

Material and methods

Retrospectively, patients who had undergone a LN between 2010 and 2018 were assessed. Data included patient demographics, date of surgery, pre- and postoperative results and complications. The patients who had undergone a LN were divided into two groups: one where residents were involved and another group where only a staff surgeon (Sur) performed the operation. All training residents had a questionnaire sent to them to evaluate their role during the LN.

Results

A total of 229 patients met the study criteria, of which 78 patients were operated together with a resident and 151 by a staff surgeon alone. Both groups were homogeneous in terms of age, comorbidities, left/right sided LN and tumor-stage. Between these two groups, no significant differences were observed in median estimated blood loss (Res 87 ml vs. Sur 100 ml), intraoperative adverse events (Res 10.3% vs. Sur 6% p = 0.24), conversion to open surgery (Res 6.4% vs. Sur 6%) and high-grade postoperative complications (Res 3.9% vs. Sur 4.6%). However, when a resident participated, the LN lasted on average 20 minutes longer (Res mean 130 min vs. Sur 110 min p ≤0.001).

Conclusions

Our data shows that involvement of a resident in laparoscopic nephrectomy has no effect on the clinical outcome. Therefore, it is safe to perform a laparoscopic nephrectomy together with a resident, but it is important to take the additional surgical time into account.

Experiencia y curva de aprendizaje de apendicectomía y colecistectomía laparoscópica de los residentes de cirugía general en un hospital latinoamericano

Introducción: La cirugía laparoscópica ha revolucionado el manejo quirúrgico de los pacientes y ha generado una necesidad de capacitación en el área. El rendimiento en la vida real es lo que permite una determinación global de las competencias en un procedimiento y establece un método de formación. El objetivo de este estudio es describir la evolución en la experiencia quirúrgica de un grupo de residentes de cirugía general. Metodología: Estudio observacional analítico de cohorte retrospectiva en el Hospital Universitario San Ignacio. Incluyó 4191 procedimientos realizados, divididos en 1045 apendicectomías laparoscópicas (AL) y 3146 colecistectomías laparoscópicas (CL), realizadas por un total de 52 residentes entre enero de 2008 y diciembre de 2014. Resultados: Tanto en AL como en CL se observó un aumento en el número de procedimientos anuales. Al comparar los tiempos promedios de AL por año de residencia, se observó una tendencia a la disminución en la mediana a medida que el residente era mayor. Las complicaciones intraoperatorias fueron del 0,77 % para AL y del 1,9 % para CL. La complicación postoperatoria más frecuente fue infección del sitio operatorio con una mortalidad menor al 0,5 %. Conclusión: Los resultados evocan la necesidad de continuar con programas de residencia que proporcionen preparación adecuada en el abordaje laparoscópico, posiblemente con exposición cada vez más temprana a procedimientos mínimamente invasivos.

Case Difficulty, Postgraduate Year, and Resident Surgeon Stress: Effects on Operative Times

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to evaluate resident operative times in relation to postgraduate year (PGY), case difficulty and resident stress while performing a single surgical procedure.

DESIGN

We prospectively examined operative times for 268 laparoscopic cholecystectomies, and analyzed relationships between PGY, case difficulty, and resident surgeon stress utilizing electrodermal activity. Each case operative times were divided into 3 separate time periods. Case Start and End times were recorded, as well as the time between the start of the operation and the time until the cystic structures were divided (Division). Case difficulty was determined by multiple trained observers with a high inter-rater concordance.

SETTING

University of Missouri, a tertiary academic medical institution.

PARTICIPANTS

All categorical general surgery residents at our institution.

RESULTS

For each operative time period examined during laparoscopic cholecystectomy, operative time increased, with each incremental increase in difficulty resulting in approximately 130% longer times. Minimal differences in operative times were seen between PGY levels, except during the easiest cases (Start-End times: 38.5 ± 10.4 minutes vs 34.2 ± 10.8 minutes vs 28.9 ± 10.9 minutes, p 0.002). Resident stress poorly correlated with operative times regardless of case difficulty (Pearson coefficient range 0.0-0.22).

CONCLUSIONS

Operative times are longer with increasing case difficulty. PGY level and resident surgeon stress appear to have minimal to no correlation with operative times, regardless of case difficulty.

An Objective Assessment of the Surgical Trainee in an Urban Trauma Unit in South Africa: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND

Surgical outcomes are provider specific. This prospective audit describes the surgical activity of five general surgery residents on their trauma surgery rotation. It was hypothesized that the operating surgical trainee is an independent risk factor for adverse outcomes following major trauma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is a prospective cohort study. All patients admitted, over a 6-month period (August 2014-January 2015), following trauma requiring a major operation performed by a surgical trainee at Groote Schuur Hospital's trauma unit in South Africa were included. Multiple logistic regression models were built to compare risk-adjusted surgical outcomes between trainees. The primary outcome measure was major in-hospital complications.

RESULTS

A total of 320 major operations involving 341 procedures were included. The mean age was 28.49 years (range 13-64), 97.2 % were male with a median ISS of 9 (IQR 1-41). Mechanism of injury was penetrating in 93.42 % of cases of which 51.86 % were gunshot injuries. Surgeon A consistently had the lowest risk-adjusted outcomes and was used as the reference for all outcomes in the regression models. Surgeon B, D, and E had statistically significant higher rates of major in-hospital complications than Surgeon A and C, after adjusting for multiple confounders. The final model used to calculate the risk estimates for the primary outcome had a ROC of 0.8649.

CONCLUSION

Risk-adjusted surgical outcomes vary by operating surgical trainee. The analysis thereof can add value to the objective assessment of a surgical trainee.