Improvement In Operative Time Research Articles

Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: defining the learning curve.

Increasing numbers of laparoscopic surgeons are performing laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LGB). Our aim was to determine the length of the learning curve for a skilled laparoscopic surgeon. The study population consisted of the first 225 consecutive LGB procedures attempted by one laparoscopic surgeon (HJS). Outcome parameters included mortality, morbidity, operative time, and conversion to an open procedure. Average operative time decreased from 189 min (first 75 patients) to 125 minutes (last 75 patients). Most of the improvement in operative time occurred over the first 75 patients. The perioperative complication rate decreased from 32% (first 75 patients) to 15% (second and third groups of 75 patients). Complication rates did not significantly decrease after the first 75 patients. Low mortality and conversion rates were achieved early in the series. Low mortality rates and low conversion rates can be achieved early in the learning curve for LGB. Complication rates plateau after approximately 75 LGBs, and operative times decrease substantially over the initial 75 cases. Operative times continue to decrease at a slower rate beyond 75 cases.

PROSPECTIVE, CASE MATCHED COMPARISON OF HAND ASSISTED LAPAROSCOPIC AND OPEN SURGICAL LIVE DONOR NEPHRECTOMY

The technical difficulty of standard laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy has limited its application. Hand assistance, which takes advantage of the incision necessary for organ removal, facilitates laparoscopy without significant impact on patient recovery. We prospectively compared open surgical and hand assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. Our first 10 laparoscopic live donor nephrectomies were matched with 40 open donor nephrectomies by gender, age and body mass index. Data were obtained by pain scales, SF-12 survey instruments, questionnaires and chart abstraction. Operative time was longer for the laparoscopic approach (mean 95 versus 215 minutes). However, laparoscopic group patients had a shorter hospital stay compared to those undergoing open surgery (mean 2.9 versus 1.8 days), returned sooner to nonstrenuous activity (mean 19.0 versus 9.9 days) and reported less pain 6 weeks postoperatively (mean 2.3 versus 0.6) (p </=0.03 for all). There were no differences between groups in terms of donor complications, allograft function and ureteral complications. Mean hospital cost was 23% greater in the laparoscopic group (p = 0.005) but global cost, which accounted for estimated loss of income from work during the recovery period, was only 15% greater (p = 0.10). Mean operative time was significantly improved for our second compared to our first 5 laparoscopic group patients (177 versus 254 minutes). Laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy appears to be a safe and effective alternative to open donor nephrectomy. Indexes of patient recovery suggest patient morbidity similar to that reported following standard laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and significantly less than after open nephrectomy. Improvement in operative time in the first 10 cases suggests that hand assistance "shortens" the learning curve, which might encourage more surgeons to offer laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy.

Arthroscopic versus open bankart procedures: A comparison of early morbidity and complications

Morgan recently reported excellent results by arthroscopically suturing detached labra to the glenoid via drill holes in anterior shoulder dislocators. We attempted to quantitatively compare the operative time, and perioperative morbidity employing this technique to these same parameters using the open Bankart procedure. We retrospectively reviewed the records of consecutive patients undergoing either of these procedures at our institution over the past 2 years. Only those cases wherein the labra were reattached to the glenoid via drill holes were considered. There were 20 patients in the arthroscopic and 18 in the open Bankart groups. Using the arthroscopic method, there was a 1.8-fold decrease in operative time, a 10-fold decrease in blood loss, and a 2.5-fold decrease in postoperative narcotic use compared with the open procedure (p < 0.001). Postoperative fevers were similarly reduced. Hospital stay averaged 3.1 days with the open procedure compared with 1.1 days with the arthroscopic method (p < 0.001). Most arthroscopic Bankarts are now performed on a same-day basis. Time lost from work was 25.5 and 15.3 days for the open and arthroscopic procedures, respectively (p < 0.001). There were three complications among the patients treated with the open technique compared with none in the arthroscopic group. Thus, we conclude that the arthroscopic Bankart procedure offers significant improvements in operative time, perioperative morbidity, and complications compared with the open technique for patients with anterior shoulder instability.