Learning Curve from 100 Cases of Totally Thoracoscopic Mitral Valve Replacement.

BACKGROUND

To investigate and analyze the learning curve of totally thoracoscopic mitral valve replacement and provide a quantitative reference for cardiac surgeons to carry out the operation step by step.

METHODS

The clinical data were retrospectively analyzed of 100 consecutive patients with totally thoracoscopic mitral valve replacement successively performed by the same surgeon in a single center from May 2019 to June 2020. The learning curve was divided into 2 stages by using cumulative sum analysis, and relevant surgical parameters and perioperative indicators were analyzed.

RESULTS

The first stage of the learning curve is the skill acquisition stage, which includes 1 to 40 surgical procedures. The second stage is the proficiency stage, involving 41 to 100 operations. Among the surgical parameters of the patients in the 2 stages, detectable improvements were observed in operative time, cardiopulmonary bypass time, cross-clamp time, and intraoperative injury. After surgery, the amount of drainage, length of hospital stay, blood creatinine levels, and oxygenation index 24 h after surgery were also significantly different between the 2 groups (all P < .05). The age and sex distributions of the patients were balanced, and there was no statistically significant difference in terms of conversion to median sternotomy between the 2 stages (P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Cumulative sum analysis was used to accurately analyze the learning curve of totally thoracoscopic mitral valve replacement, indicating that 40 cases are needed to master the technique.