Early surgeon impressions and technical difficulty associated with laparoendoscopic single-site surgery: a Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons Learning Center study.

Background: Interest in laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) is growing rapidly among surgeons. This study aimed to characterize current surgeon impressions about LESS and to determine the relative difficulty of performing a simulated LESS task using a multiport access device.

Methods: This study was conducted at the 2009 Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) Learning Center.

Two-year skill retention and certification exam performance after fundamentals of laparoscopic skills training and proficiency maintenance.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine 2-year performance retention and certification exam pass rate after completion of a proficiency-based fundamental laparoscopic skills (FLS) curriculum and subsequent interval training.

Methods: Surgery residents (postgraduate year [PGY]1-5, n = 91) were enrolled in an Institutional Review Board approved protocol. All participants initially underwent proficiency-based training on all 5 FLS tasks.

Video. Modified single-incision laparoscopic adjustable gastric band.

Introduction: This video describes a modified single-incision laparoscopic approach for adjustable gastric band placement.

Method: The patient was a 28-year-old female with a BMI of 48.75 with no prior surgery but with numerous comorbidities.

Proficiency-based Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery skills training results in durable performance improvement and a uniform certification pass rate.

Background: The authors have previously documented a 100% certification pass rate immediately after a proficiency-based skills training curriculum for the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) program. This study aimed to determine the durability of skills acquired after initial training.

Methods: For this study, 21 novice medical students were enrolled in institutional review board (IRB)-approved protocols at two institutions.

Pretraining on Southwestern stations decreases training time and cost for proficiency-based fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery training.

Background: We previously reported a proficiency-based Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) curriculum that uniformly resulted in passing the technical skills certification criteria. We hypothesized that pretraining using the Southwestern (SW) videotrainer stations would decrease costs and training time and maintain benefits.

Study Design: Group I (2nd-year medical student, n = 10) underwent FLS pretesting (Pretest 1), SW station proficiency-based training, repeat FLS testing (Pretest 2), FLS proficiency-based training, and final FLS testing (Posttest).

Maintaining proficiency after fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery training: a 1-year analysis of skill retention for surgery residents.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine performance retention after initial and ongoing Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) skills training.

Methods: Surgery residents (postgraduate year [PGY] 1-5; n = 91) initially underwent proficiency-based training during a 2-month period for all 5 FLS tasks. Subsequently, available residents (PGY 2-5; n = 44) were enrolled in a follow-up curriculum for Tasks 4 and 5, with retention testing at 6.