Korean J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg.  2015 Apr;48(2):105-111. 10.5090/kjtcs.2015.48.2.105.

Trainees Can Safely Learn Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery Lobectomy despite Limited Experience in Open Lobectomy

• Yu WS
• Lee CY
• Lee S
• Kim DJ
• Chung KY

• KMID: 2382239
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5090/kjtcs.2015.48.2.105

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to establish whether pulmonary lobectomy using video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) can be safely performed by trainees with limited experience with open lobectomy.
METHODS
Data were retrospectively collected from 251 patients who underwent VATS lobectomy at a single institution between October 2007 and April 2011. The surgical outcomes of the procedures that were performed by three trainee surgeons were compared to the outcomes of procedures performed by a surgeon who had performed more than 150 VATS lobectomies. The cumulative failure graph of each trainee was used for quality assessment and learning curve analysis.
RESULTS
The surgery time, estimated blood loss, final pathologic stage, thoracotomy conversion rate, chest tube duration, duration of hospital stay, complication rate, and mortality rate were comparable between the expert surgeon and each trainee. Cumulative failure graphs showed that the performance of each trainee was acceptable and that all trainees reached proficiency in performing VATS lobectomy after 40 cases.
CONCLUSION
This study shows that trainees with limited experience with open lobectomy can safely learn to perform VATS lobectomy for the treatment of lung cancer under expert supervision without compromising outcomes.

Keyword

Education; Lobectomy; Lung neoplasms; Minimal invasive surgery; Thoracic surgery, video-assisted

MeSH Terms

Chest Tubes
Education
Humans
Learning Curve
Length of Stay
Lung Neoplasms
Mortality
Organization and Administration
Retrospective Studies
Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted*
Thoracotomy