Impact of Trainee Involvement on Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Lobectomy for Cancer

Previous literature in other surgical disciplines regarding the impact of resident and fellow involvement on operative time and outcomes has yielded mixed results. The impact of trainee involvement on minimally invasive thoracic surgery is unknown. This study compared risk-adjusted differences in operative time and outcomes of video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy for cancer between cases performed with and without residents and fellows involved.

All patients undergoing elective video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy for cancer between 2008 and 2018 were identified in the Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Patients were stratified into 2 cohorts: cases with residents and fellows involved, and cases performed only by attending surgeons. Primary outcomes included operative time, postoperative hospital length of stay, and composite 30-day morbidity and mortality. Secondary outcomes included factors associated with high and low trainee operative autonomy.

A total of 3678 patients met study inclusion criteria. In all, 1780 cases were performed with residents and fellows involved (median postgraduate year, 5; interquartile range, 4-7). Multivariate analysis showed that operative time was significantly shorter in resident- and fellow-involved cases compared with attending-only cases (mean [SD], 3.6 [1.4] versus 3.8 [1.6] hours; P < .001). There were no significant differences in composite 30-day morbidity and mortality (16.0% versus 17.1%; adjusted odds ratio = 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.77-1.11; P = .40) or length of stay. Substratification of trainees by postgraduate year resulted in similar findings. Cases performed in July through October and those in the Northeastern United States were associated with low autonomy.

Current training paradigms in thoracic surgery are safe, and the involvement of motivated and skilled trainees with appropriate supervision may benefit operative duration.