Survey of urologic laparoscopic practice patterns in Saudi Arabia

Laparoscopic surgery is taking a greater role in the management of many urologic diseases. We performed a survey whose aim was to define laparoscopic practice patterns among urologists in Saudi Arabia.

In March 2009, detailed questionnaires about urologic laparoscopic practice patterns were distributed to 352 urologists who were working in Saudi Arabia. The questions related to age, residency training, and amount of laparoscopy performed.

The overall response rate was 42%. A total of 21% of certified urologists in Saudi Arabia performed no laparoscopy, 24.8% devoted less than 5% of their practice time, and 54.3% devoted 5% or more of their practice time to laparoscopic surgery. Of the respondents, 27.5% stated that they had adequate training during residency to perform laparoscopy. Both age and time in practice were inversely related to the amount of time devoted to laparoscopy (P = 0.001). Of those who were affiliated with a university, 70% devoted more than 5% of their operative time to laparoscopy. Urologists in the Ministry of Health were the least to perform a significant volume of laparoscopy. The two most important reasons mentioned for performing laparoscopy were a faster recovery period and reduced morbidity. The main laparoscopic procedures, according to the proportion of urologists who perform laparoscopic surgery, were varicocelectomy, 38%; simple nephrectomy, 27%; renal cyst decortications, 23%; adrenalectomy, 20%; radical nephrectomy, 20%; pyeloplasty, 18%; and orchidopexy, 17%.

Urologic laparoscopic practice in Saudi Arabia is still in its early stages. Accordingly, more laparoscopic procedures should be implemented in the local training programs.