A prospective study demonstrating the reliability and validity of two procedure-specific evaluation tools to assess operative competence in laparoscopic colorectal surgery.

Background: Laparoscopic colorectal surgery is considered an advanced minimally invasive procedure with a long, variable learning curve. Developing an evaluation tool is essential to ensure that individuals reach a certain level of competence prior to performing this procedure independently. To achieve standardization and wide implementation, an assessment tool must be reflective of practice across many institutions.

Study Design: The purpose of this study is to validate two procedure-specific evaluation tools for laparoscopic colorectal surgery that were developed using innovative consensus methodology. Two procedure-specific rating scales for laparoscopic right and sigmoid colectomy were created using the Delphi method. Nine novice and nine expert laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy videos were prospectively collected, and nine novice and ten expert laparoscopic right colectomy videos were recorded. The experts rated the videos using the procedure-specific technical skills evaluation tool for either laparoscopic right colectomy or laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy.

Results: There were statistically significant differences between the expert and novice scores on the laparoscopic right colectomy evaluation tool: the median score of novices was 63.8% and the expert score was 73.1% (p = 0.02). Similarly, there was a significant difference between the median novice score on the sigmoid tool (58.6%) compared with the median expert score (70.7%) (p = 0.003). Cronbach's alpha was 0.82 for the right colectomy evaluation tool and 0.79 for the sigmoid rating scale.

Conclusions: The procedure-specific evaluation tools for laparoscopic right and sigmoid colectomy demonstrate strong reliability and construct validity, and have the potential to be used for technical skills assessment and feedback.