Resident physician operative times during cataract surgery

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Surgical Education
• Medical Training

Background:

• Cataract surgery is a common procedure.
• Resident physician training involves progressive skill acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate resident physician operative times during cataract surgery.
• To compare resident performance at specific surgical milestones (45th, 86th, 121st cases) with published benchmarks.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of 375 cataract surgery records from 25 ophthalmology residents.
• Comparison of resident operative times at different stages of training with each other and with a published experienced surgeon's data.

Main Results:

• Mean operative times decreased from 39.9 minutes (surgeries 43-47) to 30.0 minutes (surgeries 84-88) and 27.2 minutes (surgeries 119-123).
• A 25% decrease in surgical time was observed between the 45th and 86th cases (P = .0002).
• Resident operative times were significantly longer than a published surgeon's at the 45th and 86th cases but nearly identical by the 121st case.

Conclusions:

• Significant operative time reductions occur between the 45th and 86th cataract surgery cases for residents.
• Further operative time decreases are less pronounced after the 86th case.
• Resident operative efficiency approaches that of experienced surgeons by the 121st cataract surgery.