The Effect of Afternoon Operative Sessions of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Performed by Senior Surgeons on the General Surgery Residency Program: A Comparative Study

ObjectiveLaparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has been the gold standard for surgical treatment of gallbladder disease since 1980. This laparoscopic surgical procedure is one of the first to be performed by general surgery residents. There is a learning curve required to excel at performing LC. During this period, the operation needs to be performed under the supervision of a senior surgeon. The purpose of this study was to compare LC performed by residents with that performed by senior surgeons using the following parameters: operative time, conversion rate, complication rate, and mean length of hospital stay.MethodsThis retrospective study included 1219 patients who underwent elective LC in our institute—788 operated on by a senior surgeon and 431 by a resident.ResultsThe mean operative time was 39 ± 19 minutes. There was a significant difference between the groups, as the mean operative time for the resident group was 49.9 ± 13 compared with 33.7 ± 6 for the senior surgeon group. The overall conversion rate was 2.1%, the complication rate was 2.2%, and the mean length of hospital stay was 1.5 days. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups for these parameters.ConclusionsThe only significant difference between the groups was a longer operative time, as the conversion rate, complication rate, and mean length of stay were the same. Therefore, it is safe for LC to be performed by residents supervised by a senior surgeon.