Laparoscopic practice patterns in the Netherlands in 2005.

Purpose: To assess the status of urologic laparoscopy in the Netherlands in 2005.

Materials And Methods: A personal e-mail survey was sent to all practicing Dutch urologists to assess the urologic laparoscopic practice patterns in the Netherlands in 2005.

Results: Data were gathered from 86.8% of all urologists receiving the survey. In 2005, 25.5% of Dutch urologists performed laparoscopic procedures. The median number of laparoscopic procedures per urologist was low: 23 per year. Of all non-laparoscopists, 28.5% indicated an intent to begin performing laparoscopic procedures within 1 year.

Conclusion: All currently performed laparoscopic urologic procedures were performed in the Netherlands in 2005, but the number of such procedures performed per year is low.