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Training or non-surgical factors—what determines a good surgical performance? A randomised controlled trial

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Abstract

Background

Acquiring laparoscopic skills is a necessity for every young surgeon. Whether it is a talent or a non-surgical skill that determines the surgical performance of an endoscopic operation has been discussed for years. In other disciplines aptitude testing has become the norm. Airlines, for example, have implemented assessments to test the natural aptitude of future pilots to predict their performance later on. In the medical field, especially surgery, there are no similar comparable tests implemented or even available. This study investigates the influence of potential factors that may predict the successful performance of a complex laparoscopic operation, such as the surgeon’s age, gender or learning method.

Methods

This study focussed 70 surgical trainees. It was designed as a secondary analysis of data derived from a 2 × 2 factorial randomised controlled trial of practical training and/or multimedia training (four groups) in an experimental exercise. Both before and then after the training sessions, the participating trainees performed a laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a pelvitrainer. Surgical performance was then evaluated using a modified objective structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS). Participants were classified as ‘Skilled’ (high score in the pre-test), ‘Good Learner’ (increase from pre- to post-test) or ‘Others’ based on the OSATS results. Based on the results of the recorded performance, the training methods as well as non-surgical skills were eventually evaluated in a univariate and in a multivariate analysis.

Results

In the pre-training performance 11 candidates were categorised as ‘Skilled’ (15.7%), 35 participants as ‘Good Learners’ (50.0%) and 24 participants were classified as ‘Others’. The univariate analysis showed that the age, a residency in visceral surgery, and participation in a multimedia training were significantly associated with this grouping. Multivariate analyses revealed that residency in visceral surgery was the most predictive factor for the ‘Skilled’ participants (p = 0.059), and multimedia training was most predictive for the ‘Good Learner’ (p = 0.006). Participants in the group of ‘Others’ who were neither ‘Skilled’ nor improved in the training phase were younger (p = 0.011) and did not receive multimedia (p < 0.001) or practical (p = 0.025) training.

Conclusion

The type of learning method has been shown to be the most effective factor to improve laparoscopic skills, with multimedia training proving to be more effective than practical training.

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Acknowledgements

This manuscript is dedicated to Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h. c. Hans Troidl, pioneer in endoscopic surgery.

This work was supported by KARL STORZ GmbH & Co. KG (Tuttlingen, Germany), which provided the laparoscopic equipment and the technical assistance. Furthermore, the study was financially supported by the European Surgical Institute (ESI, Norderstedt, Germany), which is part of Johnson & Johnson Medical GmbH (Norderstedt, Germany).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for General, Abdominal and Thoracic Surgery, Clinic Gummersbach, Academic Hospital, University of Cologne, Wilhelm-Breckow-Allee 20, 51643, Gummersbach, Germany

    Cornelia Lindlohr & S. Saad

  2. Institute for Research in Operative Medicine (IFOM), University Witten/Herdecke, Cologne, Germany

    R. Lefering

  3. Department for Abdominal, Vascular and Transplant Surgery, Cologne-Merheim Medical Centre, University of Witten/Herdecke, Cologne, Germany

    M. M. Heiss

  4. Department for General and Abdominal Surgery, Protestant Hospital, Cologne-Weyertal, Germany

    C. Pape-Köhler

Authors
  1. Cornelia Lindlohr
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  2. R. Lefering
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  3. S. Saad
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  4. M. M. Heiss
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  5. C. Pape-Köhler
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cornelia Lindlohr.

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Disclosures

Dr. M.M. Heiss is editor-in-chief (EDIC) of webop© and reports non-financial support from Karl Storz GmbH & Co KG (Tuttlingen, Germany), grants from European Surgical Institute (ESI, Norderstedt, Germany) during the conduct of the study and personal fees from www.webop.de, outside the submitted work. Dr. C. Pape-Köhler is the co-founder of webop© and reports personal fees from www.webop.de, outside the submitted work; Drs. R. Lefering, S. Saad and C. Lindlohr have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.

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Lindlohr, C., Lefering, R., Saad, S. et al. Training or non-surgical factors—what determines a good surgical performance? A randomised controlled trial. Langenbecks Arch Surg 402, 645–653 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00423-017-1567-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00423-017-1567-8

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