title: Comparison of efficiencies of three techniques for colon surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the most efficient technique for performing a colectomy, we used the methodology of time-motion analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The efficiency of five hand-assisted and six regular laparoscopic colectomies and one open colectomy, performed by four surgeons in three different hospitals, was measured. The open colectomy was analyzed as a reference procedure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The hand-assisted laparoscopic technique was the most efficient. Hand-assisted laparoscopy was therefore less time consuming than laparoscopic surgery. Open surgery was the fastest technique, because the time for every surgical motion is a factor of three shorter than for the two laparoscopic techniques.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Design, Engineering and Production, Section Man-Machine Systems, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. w.sjoerdsma@amc.uva.nl
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sjoerdsma
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Meijer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: den Boer
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Grimbergen
mesh_terms: D003082:Colectomy / Q000379:methods*; D004210:Dissection / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D013996:Time and Motion Studies