Clinical science
Impact of laparoscopy simulator training on the technical skills of future surgeons in the operating room: a prospective study

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Abstract

Background

The efficacy of laparoscopy simulators remains controversial.

Methods

This was a comparative prospective study that evaluated the impact of simulator training on technical competence during a real surgical procedure. Residents were divided into 3 groups: the Mcgill Inanimate System for Training and Evaluation of Laparoscopic Skills (MISTELS) group, training on a simple simulator; LAP Mentor group, training on a virtual simulator; and control group. An initial evaluation was made by a validated score during a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Each resident was then trained for 1 month. A second evaluation was then performed.

Results

Before/after scores were significantly improved in the MISTELS (P = .042) and LAP Mentor (P = .026) groups. It was not the case in the control group. There was a better progression in the MISTELS (P = .026) and LAP Mentor (P = .007) groups than in the control group. There was no significant difference between the MISTELS and LAP Mentor groups.

Conclusions

Simulator training provides a more rapid acquisition of competence in surgical technique.

Section snippets

Materials and Methods

Between May 2007 and July 2008, we performed a monocenter prospective study over a period of 3 residency rotations. The impact of the 3 training rotations on STS was estimated in a single blind comparison with a validated tool: the Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills (GOALS) score.

The participants in the study were general surgery or gynecology-obstetrics residents joining the general and digestive surgery Department at the North Hospital in Marseille for 1 rotation. They were

Results

Nineteen candidates were included in the study and evaluated. The 3 groups were comparable in seniority and in the number of rotations of laparoscopic surgeries performed (Table 1). As for the laparoscopic tasks performed by each resident during the study, there was no significant difference between the 3 groups in terms of overall laparoscopic tasks (operator or assistant operator) but there was a significant difference in procedures as operator between the MISTELS and the control groups in

Comments

Our study revealed a significant difference in STS progression between the groups who benefitted from simulator training and the control group. We did not note a significant difference in progression between the MISTELS group (a relatively inexpensive simulator) and the LAP Mentor group (a more expensive one). The efficacy of the surgical simulation was broadly studied for the acquisition of basic tasks for the beginners22, 23, 24 on models that were more or less true to reality.25 There are 4

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