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HOME > Ann Coloproctol > Volume 38(3); 2022 > Article
Letter to the Editor
 Learning curve in laparoscopic appendectomy: training strategy of laparoscopic surgery
Hyung Ook Kimorcid
Annals of Coloproctology 2022;38(3):276-277.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3393/ac.2020.00010.0001
Published online: June 27, 2022

Department of Surgery, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence to: Hyung Ook Kim, M.D., Ph.D. Department of Surgery, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 29 Saemunan-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03181, Korea Tel: +82-2-2001-8540, Fax: +82-2-2001-2131 E-mail: ho115.kim@samsung.com
• Received: January 1, 2020   • Revised: May 15, 2020   • Accepted: May 20, 2020

Copyright © 2022 The Korean Society of Coloproctology

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Laparoscopic appendectomy is one of the simplest minimally invasive abdominal surgeries; complicated (perforated, gangrenous, or with abscess) appendicitis may require an additional advanced laparoscopic technique. A laparoscopic appendectomy was reported for the first time in 1983 by Semm [1] and has been accepted as a safe operation for simple and complicated appendicitis. Many patients with acute appendicitis who have been admitted to a teaching hospital have undergone laparoscopic appendectomy; thus, the frequency of laparoscopic appendectomies performed by surgical residents is increasing. Laparoscopic appendectomy is a good training tool for laparoscopic novices. However, the learning curve of laparoscopic appendectomy performed by surgical residents who do not have any experience of laparoscopic surgery is not known.
The article entitled “Resident learning curve for laparoscopic appendectomy according to seniority [2]” shows that accumulation of surgical experience of residents might affect the learning curve of laparoscopic appendectomy. Previous studies regarding the learning curve of laparoscopic appendectomy by surgical residents did not divide outcomes according to seniority in surgical training [3-5]. Operation time is an important and widely accepted variable to assess the learning curve in many other surgeries. However, an important achievement in the learning curve for laparoscopic appendectomy is reduced perioperative morbidity
The study analyzed the learning curve using not only operation time but also other important parameters of surgical completion rate, intraoperative complication, conversion rate, and postoperative complication. The study included surgical residents with different levels of experience and analyzed them using a multidimensional statistical method for surgical completion as well as operation time to avoid the limitations of previous studies. The senior resident performed surgery relatively slowly but pursued completeness of surgery compared to junior residents. This might mean that accumulation of surgical experience affects surgical completion. Therefore, we suggest that further studies are necessary to prepare a training strategy for laparoscopic surgery according to experience of surgical residents.
In a previous study carried out by our institution in 2010, laparoscopic appendectomy performed by surgical fellows who have completed their residency but had no experience of laparoscopic surgery did not show any difference in postoperative outcomes compared to laparoscopic experts [6]. Of the early experience of laparoscopic surgery and the many experiences of open surgery other than laparoscopic surgery, it may be necessary to identify what is more important for the training of advanced laparoscopic skill.
It is clear that experience of surgical assistance should be accumulated before performing laparoscopic surgery. Further research is needed to determine the amount of surgical assistance experience required in surgical residents to perform laparoscopic surgery themselves. Through these studies, an official surgical training course should be prepared in the laparoscopic era.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

FUNDING

None.

  • 1. Semm K. Endoscopic appendectomy. Endoscopy 1983;15:59–64.ArticlePubMed
  • 2. Kim CW, Jeon SY, Paik B, Bong JW, Kim SH, Lee SH. Resident learning curve for laparoscopic appendectomy according to seniority. Ann Coloproctol 2020;36:163–71.ArticlePubMedPMCPDF
  • 3. Kim SY, Hong SG, Roh HR, Park SB, Kim YH, Chae GB. Learning curve for a laparoscopic appendectomy by a surgical trainee. J Korean Soc Coloproctol 2010;26:324–8.ArticlePubMedPMC
  • 4. Lin YY, Shabbir A, So JB. Laparoscopic appendectomy by residents: evaluating outcomes and learning curve. Surg Endosc 2010;24:125–30.ArticlePubMedPDF
  • 5. Song HS, Jung KH, Ha DY, Jung BO, Jung HG, Lee K. 50 Cases of laparoscopic appendectomy by one surgical resident: the learning curve and safety. J Korean Soc Endosc Laparosc Surg 2010;13:59–63.
  • 6. Joo KH, Son BH, Kim HO, Hwang SI, Kim H, Han WK. Efficacy of a laparoscopic appendectomy when performed by surgeons early in their laparoscopic training courses. J Korean Soc Coloproctol 2010;26:17–21.Article

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    • Training Laparoscopic Surgeons: Assessing Workload and Skill Using Nasa-Tlx
      Muhammed Salih Süer, Serkan Demir, Mehmet Hanifi Çanakçı, Gürkan Değirmencioğlu, Melih Akıncı
      Journal of Surgical Education.2025; 82(9): 103588.     CrossRef
    • Current status, challenges, and future directions of laparoscopic training in young surgeons: a nationwide survey in China
      Tianyu Li, Haikun Wu, Jie Dong
      BMC Medical Education.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef

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      Learning curve in laparoscopic appendectomy: training strategy of laparoscopic surgery
      Ann Coloproctol. 2022;38(3):276-277.   Published online June 27, 2022
      DOI: https://doi.org/10.3393/ac.2020.00010.0001
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