Laparoscopic Ambidexterity in Left-Handed Trainees

Area of Science:

• Surgical Skill Acquisition
• Laparoscopic Surgery
• Handedness Research

Background:

• Objective data on handedness in surgery is limited.
• Laparoscopic surgery requires ambidexterity, posing challenges for surgeons with a dominant hand.
• Understanding handedness patterns can optimize surgical training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate handedness patterns in surgical residents.
• To evaluate the impact of handedness on laparoscopic task performance.
• To identify potential advantages of left-handedness in surgical skill acquisition.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 16 surgical residents' performance on bimanual laparoscopic tasks.
• Assessment of delta time (dominant vs. nondominant hand task completion time).
• Comparison of task completion times and variability between left-handed and right-handed dominant residents.

Main Results:

• 25% of residents were left-handed dominant; 75% were right-handed dominant.
• Left-handed residents showed significantly shorter task completion times in Task 2 (P=0.02).
• Left-handed residents exhibited smaller performance variability across all tasks and significantly shorter delta times.

Conclusions:

• Left-handed dominant residents demonstrated superior performance and less variability in laparoscopic tasks.
• The majority of left-handed residents adapted to using their non-dominant hand, yet still outperformed right-handed peers.
• Findings suggest a potential advantage for left-handedness in surgical ambidexterity and inform curriculum development.