Impact of Laparoscopic Experience on Performance on Laparoscopic Training Drills among Obstetrics and Gynecology Residents: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Study Objective To assess whether volume of laparoscopic experience correlates with residents’ performance on laparoscopic training drills. Design Residents performed 4 laparoscopic drills in the inanimate laboratory: peg transfer, bean drop, rope pass, and triangle transfer. Performance times were recorded. Laparoscopic experience as primary surgeon was determined from resident case logs. The resident data were divided according to volume of laparoscopic experience (0–19, 20–39, ≥40 cases). Performance times were compared among the groups according to volume of laparoscopic surgical experience. Design classification: II-3. Setting This study was conducted in a university school of medicine surgical skills laboratory. Participants Participants in this study were obstetrics and gynecology residents entering their second through fourth years of training. Interventions Laparoscopic trainer drill performance times were recorded and correlated with amount of operative laparoscopic experience. Measurements and Main Results In all, 25 residents participated. Only the peg transfer drill showed statistically significant correlation between faster performance time and increasing laparoscopic experience (p =.01). No significant association existed between laparoscopic experience and performance time on the bean drop, triangle transfer, or rope pass drills. Conclusion Residents with more laparoscopic experience performed the peg transfer drill significantly faster than those with less experience.