Reinforcing the effect of microsurgery practice during robotic suturing skill acquisition

Area of Science:

• Surgical Education
• Robotic Surgery
• Microsurgery

Background:

• Robotic surgery training requires effective methods for skill acquisition and retention.
• The impact of interval training on robotic surgical skills is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating microsurgery practice during training intervals in robotic surgery.
• To determine if additional microscope-based training enhances skill memory and performance in robotic surgery trainees.

Main Methods:

• Two groups of 30 trainees each underwent four 2-h robotic surgical training sessions with 72-h intervals.
• Group A received no additional training during intervals.
• Group B practiced a 2-h microscope-based ring penetration exercise three times during each 72-h interval.

Main Results:

• A 72-h interval without additional practice led to skill forgetting in Group A.
• Group B demonstrated improved memory retention due to microscope-based interval training.
• Group B achieved significantly higher scores on the Thread the Rings 1 learning curve compared to Group A.

Conclusions:

• Integrating microsurgical skill training into robotic surgery curricula can be beneficial.
• Additional training using a binocular microscope improves robotic surgical skill levels and retention.