Less Surgical Experience Has no Impact on Mortality and Morbidity After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: A Prospective
Josephine P Rothman1, Jakob Burcharth, Hans-Christian Pommergaard
1*Department of Surgery, Center for Perioperative Optimization, Herlev Hospital †Department of Surgery, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Background:
The number of cholecystectomies required to be fully educated as a surgeon has not yet been established. The European Association for Endoscopic Surgery, however, claims that inadequate experience is a risk factor for bile duct injury. The objective was to investigate surgical experience as a risk factor after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Methods:
A prospective cohort study using the Danish Cholecystectomy Database to generate a cohort including adults treated with laparoscopic cholecystectomy from 2006 to 2011. The relationship between surgeons' level of experience and outcomes were evaluated.
Results:
Surgical inexperience was not a risk factor for mortality and morbidity. The risk of conversion was however higher when the patients were operated by more experienced surgeons with an odds ratio of 1.80 (95% confidence interval, 1.51-2.14). Surgical inexperience was not a risk factor for bile duct injury.
Conclusion:
We found that low surgical experience did not by itself increase the risk of mortality or morbidity.
