title: Prospective evaluation of complications in laparoscopic urology at a mid-volume institution using standardized criteria: Experience of 1023 cases including learning curve in 9 years.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the laparoscopic operations performed in our department according to the modified Clavien classification system of complications.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between September, 2005 and February, 2014, a total of 1023 laparoscopic cases were performed. This period was divided into three terms (Terms 1, 2 and 3 consisting of 38, 32 and 32 months, respectively). According to the European Scoring System (ESS), easy (E), slightly difficult (SD), fairly difficult (FD), difficult (D), very difficult (VD) and extremely difficult (ED) cases were 35, 88, 170, 390, 203 and 137, respectively. The perioperative complications were evaluated based on the 3 time periods, with a specific emphasis on determining the learning curve according to the modified Clavien classification system of complications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 236 (23.1%) complications were observed according to the modified Clavien classification. The minor (Clavien I-II) and major (Clavien III, IV and V) complication rates were 20.5% (n = 210) and 2.4% (n = 26), respectively. Clavien I was the most frequently encountered type of complication (n = 120, %11.7). No significant difference was observed among all 3 time periods regarding total complication rates. The D cases had the highest complication rate compared to E, SD, FD, VD and ED cases among all three terms. The total number of complications increased significantly with increasing grade of technical difficulty according to the ESS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Complications encountered in our laparoscopic surgery experience were predominantly minor, and the rate of complications was not significantly increased during the learning curve. The present data can provide guidance and manage expectations for surgeons introducing laparoscopy into their practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Oner
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sanli
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tzevat
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tefik
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Selcuk
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erdem
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mazhar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ortac
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Emre
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salabas
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serkan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karakus
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Baris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yucel
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Abubekir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boyuk
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tayfun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oktar
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Faruk
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ozcan
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Necdet
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aras
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tunc
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ismet
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nane
keywords: Complications; laparoscopy; urology