Telemedicine: teleproctored endoscopic sinus surgery.
OBJECTIVE
Teleproctored surgery projects a surgeon's expertise to remote locations. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of this technique as compared with the current standard of care.


METHODS
Prospective.


METHODS
A study was conducted in a residency training program comparing conventionally proctored endoscopic sinus surgery cases with teleproctored cases, with the faculty surgeon supervising through audiovisual teleconferencing (VTC) in a control room 15 seconds from the operating room.


RESULTS
Forty-two control patients (83 sides) and 45 teleproctored patients (83 sides) were evaluated. There were no internal differences between groups regarding extent of polypoid disease, revision status, procedures per case, degree of difficulty, general or local anesthesia, or microdebrider use. There were no cases of visual disturbance, orbital ecchymosis or hematoma, or cerebrospinal fluid leak. Orbital fat herniation and blood loss were equal between groups. Three teleproctored cases required faculty intervention: two for surgical difficulty, one for VTC problems. Teleproctored cases took 3.87 minutes longer per side (28.54 vs. 24.67 min, P <.024), a 16% increase. This was thought to be a result of nuances of VTC proctoring. Residents had a positive learning experience, with nearly full control of the operating suite combined with remote supervision through telepresence. Faculty thought such supervision was safe but had concerns regarding personal skills maintenance.


CONCLUSIONS
Teleproctored endoscopic sinus surgery can be safely performed on selected cases with an acceptable increase in time. Teleproctored surgery with remote sites may continue to be safely investigated. Incorporating remote supervision through telepresence into the curriculum of surgical residency training requires further study.
Burgess
Lawrence P A
LP
Department of Surgery, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii 96859-1000, USA. burgessL001@hawaii.rr.com
Syms
Mark J
MJ
Holtel
Michael R
MR
Birkmire-Peters
Deborah P
DP
Johnson
Robert E
RE
Ramsey
Mitchell J
MJ
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D010256:Paranasal Sinuses / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011336:Probability; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000601:surgery*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014741:Video Recording / Q000295:instrumentation