title: Experience with robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy at a secondary training hospital: operation time, treatment outcomes, and complications with the accumulation of experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the learning curve and outcomes of robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) performed by a relatively lower volume surgeon at a secondary training hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  The medical records and the surgery video recordings of 100 patients who underwent RALP by a single surgeon between March 2010 and January 2013 were reviewed. The first 10 cases were grouped into period 1, cases 11 to 40 into period 2, cases 41 to 70 into period 3, and cases 71 to 100 into period 4. The interval between the operations, the operative time for each step of the surgery, the total console time, and the operative outcomes were investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean interval between surgeries was 10.6±9.3 days. The console time decreased progressively after the first 10 cases and reached under 3 hours after 75 cases. The time taken to begin dissection of the dorsal vein complex, for the division of the bladder neck, for lateral dissection with neurovascular bundle preservation, and for apex dissection decreased significantly with experience, although the time for vesicourethral anastomosis did not. The margin-positive rate of stage T2 patients was 27.4% (20/73), and the transfusion rate was 50% in period 1 patients and 3.3% in period 4 patients. No major complications occurred.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is difficult to shorten the learning curve of surgeons in secondary training hospitals owing to the smaller number of cases and the irregular surgical intervals. Although the operation time was relatively longer, the surgical outcome and complication rates were comparable with those of surgeons at larger hospitals.
authors: Department of Urology, Eulji General Hospital, Eulji University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Do Young
authors: DY
authors: Seo
authors: Hee Ju
authors: HJ
authors: Cho
authors: Jeong Man
authors: JM
authors: Cho
authors: Jung Yoon
authors: JY
authors: Kang
authors: Tag Keun
authors: TK
authors: Yoo
keywords: Learning curve; Prostatectomy; Prostatic neoplasms; Robotics
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