INFLUENCE OF MINIMALLY INVASIVE LAPAROSCOPIC EXPERIENCE SKILLS ON ROBOTIC SURGERY DEXTERITY.

BACKGROUND

It is unclear if there is a natural transition from laparoscopic to robotic surgery with transfer of abilities.

AIM

To measure the performance and learning of basic robotic tasks in a simulator of individuals with different surgical background.

METHODS

Three groups were tested for robotic dexterity: a) experts in laparoscopic surgery (n=6); b) experts in open surgery (n=6); and c) non-medical subjects (n=4). All individuals were aged between 40-50 years. Five repetitions of four different simulated tasks were performed: spatial vision, bimanual coordination, hand-foot-eye coordination and motor skill.

RESULTS

Experts in laparoscopic surgery performed similar to non-medical individuals and better than experts in open surgery in three out of four tasks. All groups improved performance with repetition.

CONCLUSION

Experts in laparoscopic surgery performed better than other groups but almost equally to non-medical individuals. Experts in open surgery had worst results. All groups improved performance with repetition.