Danish Surgeons' Views on Minimally Invasive Surgery

Abstract

Advancements in minimally invasive surgery have led to increases in popularity of single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) and natural orifice translumenal surgery (NOTES(®); American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy [Oak Brook, IL] and Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons [Los Angeles, CA]) due to their postulated benefits of better cosmesis, less pain, and quicker recovery. This questionnaire-based study investigated Danish surgeons' attitudes toward these new procedures. A 26-item questionnaire was developed and distributed electronically via e-mail to a total of 1253 members of The Danish Society of Surgeons and The Danish Society of Young Surgeons. In total, 352 (approximately 30%) surgeons completed the questionnaire, 54.4% were over 50 years of age, and 76.6% were men. When choosing surgery, the most important factors taken into consideration were the risk of complication and short convalescence, whereas the least important factors were cosmesis and option of local anaesthesia. If the surgeons themselves were to undergo cholecystectomy, 35.5% would choose SILS, and 14.5% would choose NOTES provided that the risk was equal to traditional laparoscopy (3%). The fraction of surgeons willing to learn SILS and NOTES was 44.6% and 32.7%, respectively. The desire to learn was higher among less experienced and surgically active surgeons. Of the responders, 68.8% considered SILS and 43.2% considered NOTES would become standard techniques for cholecystectomy within 6 years. The importance of risk of complications has not surprisingly a high priority among surgeons in this questionnaire. Why this is has to be investigated further before implementing SILS and NOTES as standard of care.