Resident impact on operative duration for elective general surgical procedures

Resident involvement in operations increases operative duration. This study investigated resident impact on operative time for a single general surgeon in an outpatient surgical setting.

A retrospective review was performed of index general surgical operations meeting inclusion criteria. Operative duration, patient demographics, 30-day complication/readmission rates, and degree of resident involvement were collected.

625 cases were analyzed. Patient demographics were similar for all procedural comparison groups. Operative time increased with resident involvement for each operation-umbilical hernia repairs were associated with a 19% increase (22.3 ± 6.7 versus 26.5 ± 7.5 min, p = 0.002), laparoscopic cholecystectomies demonstrated a 15% increase (25.8 ± 8.7 versus 29.7 ± 10.2 min, p = 0.001), and laparoscopic inguinal hernia repairs demonstrated a 25% increase (32.1 ± 11.3 versus 40.2 ± 8.9 min, p < 0.001).

Each surgeon must decide if the increase in operative duration caused by resident involvement is justified by the intangible benefits residents provide.