title: Trainees Can Safely Learn Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery Lobectomy despite Limited Experience in Open Lobectomy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to establish whether pulmonary lobectomy using video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) can be safely performed by trainees with limited experience with open lobectomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were retrospectively collected from 251 patients who underwent VATS lobectomy at a single institution between October 2007 and April 2011. The surgical outcomes of the procedures that were performed by three trainee surgeons were compared to the outcomes of procedures performed by a surgeon who had performed more than 150 VATS lobectomies. The cumulative failure graph of each trainee was used for quality assessment and learning curve analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The surgery time, estimated blood loss, final pathologic stage, thoracotomy conversion rate, chest tube duration, duration of hospital stay, complication rate, and mortality rate were comparable between the expert surgeon and each trainee. Cumulative failure graphs showed that the performance of each trainee was acceptable and that all trainees reached proficiency in performing VATS lobectomy after 40 cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that trainees with limited experience with open lobectomy can safely learn to perform VATS lobectomy for the treatment of lung cancer under expert supervision without compromising outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine.
authors.forename: Woo Sik
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine.
authors.forename: Chang Young
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Armed Forces Capital Hospital.
authors.forename: Seokkee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine.
authors.forename: Do Jung
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine.
authors.forename: Kyung Young
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Chung
keywords: Education; Lobectomy; Lung neoplasms; Minimal invasive surgery; Thoracic surgery, video-assisted