Trends in Urology Resident Exposure to Minimally Invasive Surgery for Index Procedures: A Tale of Two Countries

ObjectiveTo interrogate case-log data for American and Canadian urology residents to define trends in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and open surgery and compare operative experiences between these 2 groups.MethodsCase-log data from 2004 to 2009 for American urology residents was compared with Canadian residents for 8 index cases, which are routinely performed in both an MIS and open approach. These included nephrectomy (donor, radical, simple, partial), prostatectomy (radical), adrenalectomy, pyeloplasty, and nephroureterectomy.ResultsLinear regression analysis demonstrated a significant increase in the percentage of MIS radical prostatectomies performed by American residents (11.2%–52%), compared with Canadian residents (0.74%–11.2%). There was also a significant increase in the percentage of MIS donor nephrectomies by Canadian residents (5.6%–68.7%), compared with American residents (70.1%–89.1%). For Canadian residents, exposure to the following 3 MIS procedures increased significantly over open approaches: adrenalectomy, radical prostatectomy, and donor nephrectomy. For American residents, all index procedures with the exception of adrenalectomy underwent a significant increasing trend (all p < 0.05).ConclusionsTrends for 8 index procedures confirm a continuing shift towards MIS for the majority of procedures in both countries. Differences may be only temporal and relate to dissimilar health care delivery models with a resultant lag in the adoption of laparoscopy and robotics in Canada. The impact of these trends upon ultimate surgical competence of graduates remains to be seen.