The multiphasic learning curve for robot-assisted rectal surgery

Abstract

At least three phases in the learning curve for robot-assisted rectal surgery are defined in our study.

SAGES TAVAC safety and effectiveness analysis: da Vinci® Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA)

“…They concluded that the learning phase for robotic rectal surgery was achieved after 15 to 25 cases. Similar observations were noted by Jimé-nez-Rodríguez et al and Sng et al [124,125]. While there is no consensus on the exact number of cases required to overcome the learning curve, it is acknowledged that competency with laparoscopic colectomy is recommended prior to operating the robotic system for rectal procedures [126].…”

An appraisal of the learning curve in robotic general surgery

“…Depending on how the factors were evaluated, this hybrid model reflected surgical success or surgical failure [15,16,18,24,27]. Beyond using time or clinical factors or both to determine the learning curve, several studies compared patient characteristics and outcomes for patients undergoing surgery before and after a portion of the learning curve was overcome [8,13,16,18,20,21,24,25,27,[29][30][31][32].…”

“…Origin: The studies originated from 12 countries; 8 were from the USA [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] and 6 from South Korea [15][16][17][18][19][20] with the remainder from a variety of European [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] and Asian countries [29][30][31][32].…”

The da Vinci Xi: a review of its capabilities, versatility, and potential role in robotic colorectal surgery

“…72,73 Several reports using CUSUM analytics demonstrated that the learning phase for robotic colorectal surgery consisted of 25-35 cases. [74][75][76] A recent review by Jiménez-Rodríguez et al calculated that the mean number of cases required for a surgeon to be classified as an expert in robotic rectal cancer surgery was 39. 77 In comparison, the learning curve for laparoscopic colorectal surgery varies widely, with an international multicenter analysis by Miskovic et al reporting a range of 88-152 cases.…”