ObjectiveTo summarize the characteristics of the learning curve and the occurrence of postoperative adverse events during the development of unilateral biportal endoscopy (UBE) technique by comparing the clinical data of early and late patients treated with UBE technique. Methods All patients who underwent single-level UBE technique between April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 were selected as the research subjects. According to the surgical options, all patients were allocated into 3 groups: unilateral decompression and discectomy (UDD) group, unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression (ULBD) group, and lumbar intervertebral fusion (LIF) group. The first 60 cases from each group were extracted and ranked orderly. The endoscopic operation time, the times of fluoroscopy during non-internal fixation implantation, the postoperative hospital stay, the drainage volume, the decrease of hemoglobin, the decrease of hematocrit, and the adverse events were collected. In each group, the patients were allocated into early and late cases according to the operation sequence. The first 30 cases of each group were classified as early cases, and the last 30 cases as late cases. Statistical analysis was performed on the above observation indicators between the early and late cases, and a scatter plot of relevant data changes was drawn to observe the change trend. Results Compared with the early cases, the endoscopic operation time and the times of fluoroscopy during non-internal fixation implantation of late cases in each group were significantly lower (P<0.05); the postoperative hospital stay of late cases in LIF group was significantly shorter (P<0.05); the decreased values of hemoglobin and hematokrit of late cases in ULBD group and LIF group were significantly lower (P<0.05); the postoperative drainage volume of late cases in ULBD group significantly decreased (P<0.05). The endoscopic operation time and the times of fluoroscopy during non-internal fixation implantation of 3 groups showed a significant downward trend. The adverse events occurred in 3 early cases and 1 late case of the UDD group, in 6 and 3 cases of the UBLD group, and 8 and 3 cases of the LIF group, respectively. The difference was not significant between the early and late cases (P>0.05). Conclusion In the early practice of UBE technique, there is a high incidence of complication, and the surgical trauma is relatively large, which is related to the lack of understanding of the UBE technique characteristics and insufficient surgical experience. With the proficiency of surgical techniques and accumulation of experience, the operation time and the incidence of postoperative adverse events were significantly reduced.
Objective To monitor surgical quality and analyze learning curve of minimally invasive totally thoracoscopic cardiac surgery. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 150 consecutive patients who underwent minimally invasive totally thoracoscopic cardiac surgery in the Guangdong General Hospital between January 2013 and December 2015. There were 60 males and 90 females at age of 43.1 years. There were 60 patients with atrial or ventricular septal defect repair, 12 patients with cardiac tumor resection, 53 patients with mitral valve replacement and 25 patients with mitral valve repair. According to the surgical sequence, all the patients were divided into 3 groups including a group A, group B, and group C with 50 patients in each group (every 10 patients as a sequence, every 5 sequence as a group). Surgical outcomes were compared among the 3 groups, and surgical quality was analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results Surgical failure rate was 6.7% (10/150). There was no in-hospital mortality. Aortic cross-clamp time, cardiopulmonary bypass time and duration of mechanical ventilation, duration of ICU stay, duration of hospital stays of the group C were significantly shorter than those of the group A and group B. Analysis showed a significant learning curve effect in totally thoracoscopic cardiac surgery. When surgical cases reached about 100 cases, cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross-clamp time was shorter than the average value stably. Conclusion Totally thoracoscopic cardiac surgery is safe and reliable. For the beginners, it needs about 100 patients of surgery to master the totally thoracoscopic cardiac surgery.
Objective To investigate the learning curve of laparoscopic assisted rectal cancer radical resection of a surgeon and share the experience of laparoscopic surgery. Methods The date of 119 consecutive patients who were suffered operation by same team during January 2010 to December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. The learning curve and its stages were obtained by using weighted moving average method, cumulative sum analysis(CUSUM), risk-adjusted CUSUM (RA-CUSUM)and Matlab software. The effects of each stage, such as operative time, intraoperative bold loss, harvested lymph node numbers, distal margin to the edge of tumor, complications after operation, hospital stay days, and the first time take soft food were compared, and the experience of laparoscopic assisted surgery for rectal cancer was summarized. Results Our learning curve was divided into three periods, the cutting point was around 36th and 80th cases, respectively. There was no significant difference between the 3 stages in general data, however when comparing the operative time, loss of blood, harvested lymph node numbers, the distal margin to the edge of tumor, hospital stay and total complications, the last period were best and the first stage were worst. Conclusions The learning curve can be divided into three stages, the exploration, mastery and proficient period. Our term, fixed and with rich experience in laparotomy, completed our first exploration period at about 36th patients and the second stage is around 80th cases. And the short term effect of each period’s had gradually improved with master of laparoscopic technique.
Objective To summarize the surgical learning curve and preliminary operative experience of dual-robotic navigated minimally invasive treatment on pelvic fractures by TiRobot and Artis Zeego. Methods Between July 2019 and February 2021, 90 patients with pelvic fractures were treated with dual-robotic navigated minimally invasive surgery by TiRobot and Artis Zeego. There were 64 males and 26 females, with an average age of 46.5 years (range, 13-78 years). Body mass index was 14.67-32.66 kg/m2 (mean, 23.61 kg/m2). Causes of injuries included traffic accident in 43 cases, falling from height in 37 cases, low-energy injuries such as flat falls in 10 cases. The interval between injury and surgery was 1-36 days (mean, 7.3 days). According to the location of the implanted screws, the patients were divided into sacroiliac screw group (n=33), acetabular screw group (acetabulum anterior/posterior column, n=24), composite screws group (sacroiliac and acetabulum anterior/posterior column, n=33). According to the screw implantation time and accuracy, the surgical learning curve was plotted, and the differences in the relevant indicators between learning stage and skilled stage were compared. Results All 90 patients successfully completed the operation, the intraoperative bleeding volume was 5-200 mL (median, 20 mL). There was no vascular or nerve injury. All incisions healed by first intention. The screw implantation time ranged from 7.5 to 33.0 minutes (mean, 18.92 minutes), and the screw implantation accuracy ranged from 1.1 to 1.8 mm (mean, 1.56 mm). According to the learning curve, the practice stage of 3 groups was reached after 7, 10, and 11 cases, respectively. With the accumulation of surgical experience, the screw implantation time had a significant downward trend. Compared with the learning stage, the screw implantation time on skilled stage in 3 groups significantly shortened (P<0.05), but the difference in the screw implantation accuracy was not significant (P>0.05). Conclusion TiRobot and Artis Zeego assisted pelvic fracture surgery is safe and efficient, which helps the surgeon to quickly master the pelvic channel screw surgery, and the operation time is significantly shortened on the premise of ensuring the implantation accuracy.
ObjectiveTo explore the learning curve of endoscopic thyroidectomy using the gasless unilateral axillary approach for papillary thyroid microcarcinoma.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 51 patients diagnosed with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma who underwent an endoscopic thyroidectomy using a gasless unilateral axillary approach by the same surgeon from November 2019 to September 2020 in the Department of Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University. The cumulative sum (CUSUM) analysis was used to determine the learning curve of the technology, and the CUSUM learning curve was modeled by the best fit. The operative time, intraoperative blood loss, number of lymph nodes dissected, incidence of complications and postoperative hospital stay in different phases of the learning curve were compared.ResultsThe CUSUM fitting curve reached the top at the 18th case. As a cut-off point, the learning curve was divided into two stages: the learning improvement period and the proficiency period. The operative time of patients in the proficiency stage was significantly shorter than that in the learning improvement stage (P<0.05), and there were no statistically significant differences in other data of patients in the two stages (P>0.05).ConclusionThe CUSUM analysis method is used to accurately analyze the learning curve of endoscopic thyroidectomy using the gasless unilateral axillary approach for papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, indicating that the cumulative number of operations required to master this technique is 18 cases.
ObjectiveTo analyze the learning curve of Da Vinci robotic segmentectomy. MethodsCumulative sum analysis (CUSUM) was used to analyze the learning curve of Da Vinci robotic segmentectomy performed by the General Hospital of Northern Theater Command from February 2018 to December 2020. The learning curve was obtained by fitting, and R2 was used to judge the goodness of fitting. The clinical data of patients in different stages of learning curve were compared and analyzed. Results The first 50 patients who received Da Vinci robotic segmentectomy were included, including 24 males and 26 females, with an average age of 61.9±10.6 years. The operation time decreased gradually with the accumulation of operation patients. The goodness of fitting coefficient reached the maximum value when R2=0.907 (P<0.001), CUSUM (n) =0.009×n3−0.953×n2+24.968×n−7.033 (n was the number of patients). The fitting curve achieved vertex crossing when the number of patients reached 17. Based on this, 50 patients were divided into two stages: a learning and improving stage and a mastering stage. There were statistical differences in the operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, number of lymph node dissection, postoperative catheter time, postoperative hospital stay, and postoperative complications between the two stages (P<0.05). ConclusionIt shows that the technical competency for assuring feasible perioperative outcomes can be achieved when the cumulative number of surgical patients reaches 17.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the short-term clinical outcomes of transanal total mesorectal excision (TaTME) for mid-to-lower rectal cancer and provide evidence for clinical decision-making. MethodsThe relevant literature from domestic and international databases in recent years was reviewed to systematically assess the current application of TaTME in the treatment of mid-to-low rectal cancer. A comparative analysis was conducted between the TaTME and laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (LapTME), focusing on intraoperative outcomes, short-term postoperative recovery, intraoperative and postoperative complications, oncological prognosis, and the learning curve. ResultsConventional LapTME presented significant challenges in performing precise maneuvers within the pelvis and around the rectum, particularly in patients with “difficult pelvis” characteristics such as obesity, narrow pelvis, or male anatomy. In contrast, TaTME demonstrated certain advantages, including improved visualization of anatomical planes, reduced intraoperative bleeding, lower conversion rate to open surgery, faster short-term postoperative recovery, and enhanced specimen quality. ConclusionTaTME is a safe procedure with short-term outcomes, which is superior or comparable to those of laparoscopic surgery, offering a new surgical option for the treatment of mid-to-lower rectal cancer.
ObjectiveTo compare the differences in the learning curve and surgeon's perception for pulmonary lobectomy performed by a single surgeon using the da Vinci surgical robot versus a domestically-made robotic system. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of the first 70 consecutive patients who underwent lobectomy with the da Vinci robot and the first 70 with a domestic robot. All procedures were performed by a single thoracic surgeon at Gansu Provincial Hospital who initiated the use of both systems concurrently between 2021 and 2024. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0, and learning curves for both groups were plotted and analyzed using the cumulative sum (CUSUM) method. Results The da Vinci group included 41 males and 29 females with a mean age of (66.0±6.83) years and the domestic robot group included 42 males and 28 females;with a mean age of (65.09±6.14) years. For the da Vinci group, the mean operative time was (196.14±29.63) min. The CUSUM learning curve was best fitted by a cubic equation (R2=0.986; CUSUM=0.012X3−1.799X2+69.149X−59.239, where X was the surgical volume), which peaked at the 26th case, delineating the learning and mastery phases. Statistically significant differences were observed between these phases in operation time, setup time, console time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative day 1 drainage, and number of lymph nodes dissected (all P<0.01). For the domestic robot group, the mean operative time was (187.57±24.62) min. Its CUSUM learning curve also followed a cubic fit (R2=0.910; CUSUM=0.008X3−1.152X2+40.465X+91.940), peaking at the 18th case. Significant improvements between the learning and mastery phases were also found for the same surgical metrics (all P<0.05). The surgeon's perception score was significantly higher for the da Vinci system compared to the domestic system (4.21±0.88 vs. 3.29±1.02, P<0.05). ConclusionCUSUM analysis effectively distinguishes the learning and mastery phases for both systems. The learning curve for da Vinci robotic lobectomy is overcome after 26 cases, whereas the domestic robot required 18 cases. In the mastery phase, operative time, setup time, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative day 1 drainage are significantly lower, while the number of lymph nodes dissected is significantly higher compared to the learning phase for both systems. There are no significant differences in short-term efficacy or safety between the two groups. However, the da Vinci system provids a superior surgeon experience.
Objective To analyze the learning curve of unilateral biportal endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion (UBE-LIF). Methods Fifty-five patients with single-segment lumbar degenerative disease treated with UBE-LIF between December 2020 and February 2022 were selected as the research subjects. The patients were grouped according to the operation sequence, the first 27 cases were in the early group, and the last 28 cases were in the late group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in age, gender, disease type, and surgical segment distribution (P>0.05). The operation time, the amount of hemoglobin loss (the difference between 1 day before operation and 3 days after operation), the hospital stay after operation, and the incidence of perioperative complications were recorded; the learning curve of UBE-LIF was analyzed by log-curve regression analysis. Results All the operations were successfully completed without changing to other operations. The operation time, the amount of hemoglobin loss, and hospital stay in the early group were significantly more than those in the late group (P<0.05). Complications occurred in 2 cases (7.4%) in the early group, including 1 case of dural tear during operation and 1 case of epidural hematoma after operation, and 1 case (3.6%) with transient radiculitis in the late group. There was no significant difference in the incidence of complications between the two groups (P=0.518) . The log-curve regression analysis showed that the operation time decreased significantly with the increase of the number of patients (P<0.05). The operation time tended to be stable after the surgeon completed 17 cases. ConclusionFor single-level lumbar degenerative disease, the operation time of UBE-LIF can decrease gradually with the increase of the number of patients, and tend to be stable after 17 cases.
ObjectiveTo summarize the surgical learning curve and evaluate the effectiveness, safety and feasibility of the robotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS) by comparing with the conventional vedio-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).MethodsThe clinical data of 40 patients receiving robotic assisted thoracoscopic anatomic lung resection from March to June 2016 in our department were reviewed. There were 29 males and 11 females with the age of 54-78 (60.2±12.7) years in the RATS group, and 27 males and 10 females with the age of 52-76 (58.7±11.5) years in the VATS group. Lung space-occupying lesions were comfirmed by preoperative diagnosis. The operative time, blood loss, chest tube retention time, postoperative hospital stay and perioperative morbidity and mortality were analyzed. The safety and feasibility were evaluated, and the learning curve was summed up.ResultsOperative time, postoperative ventilation time, intraoperative blood loss, chest tube retention time, postoperative pain, average hospital stay, postoperative complication rate between two groups were not statistically significant. In the RATS group preoperative preparation time was longer than that of the VATS group (24.5 min vs. 15.6 min, P=0.003), and the rate of conversion to thoracotomy of the RATS group was lower than that of the VATS group (0 vs. 10.8%). There was no perioperative death in two groups.ConclusionRobotic-assisted thoracic surgery is safe and effective in the early learning process, and the learning curve can be entered into the standard stage from the learning stage after initial 10 operations.