• Sjors Klompmaker, Walderik J van der Vliet, Stijn J Thoolen, Ana Sofia Ore, Koen Verkoulen, Monica Solis-Velasco, Elena G Canacari, Jonathan B Kruskal, Khalid O Khwaja, Jennifer F Tseng, Mark P Callery, Tara S Kent, and A James Moser.
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Pancreas and Liver Institute, Boston, MA.
• Ann. Surg. 2021 Jul 1; 274 (1): e18e27e18-e27.

ObjectiveTo train practicing surgeons in robot-assisted distal pancreatectomy (RADP) and assess the impact on 5 domains of healthcare quality.BackgroundRADP may reduce the treatment burden compared with open distal pancreatectomy (ODP), but studies on institutional training and implementation programs are scarce.MethodsA retrospective, single-center, cohort study evaluating surgical performance during a procedure-specific training program for RADP (January 2006 to September 2017). Baseline and unadjusted outcomes were compared "before training" (ODP only; June 2012). Exclusion criteria were neoadjuvant therapy, vascular- and unrelated organ resection. Run charts evaluated index length of stay (LOS) and 90-day comprehensive complication index. Cumulative sum charts of operating time (OT) assessed institutional learning. Adjusted outcomes after RADP versus ODP were compared using a secondary propensity-score-matched (1:1) analysis to determine clinical efficacy.ResultsAfter screening, 237 patients were included in the before-training (133 ODP) and after-training (24 ODP, 80 RADP) groups. After initiation of training, mean perioperative blood loss decreased (-255 mL, P<0.001), OT increased (+65 min, P < 0.001), and median LOS decreased (-1 day, P < 0.001). All other outcomes remained similar (P>0.05). Over time, there were nonrandom (P < 0.05) downward shifts in LOS, while comprehensive complication index was unaffected. We observed 3 learning curve phases in OT: accumulation (<31 cases), optimization (case 31-65), and a steady-state (>65 cases). Propensity-score-matching confirmed reductions in index and 90-day LOS and blood loss with similar morbidity between RADP and ODP.ConclusionSupervised procedure-specific training enabled successful implementation of RADP by practicing surgeons with immediate improvements in length of stay, without adverse effects on safety.Copyright © 2019 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

30 keywords...

hide…