Surgical Residents are Excluded From Robot-assisted Surgery

PURPOSE: Implementation of a robotic system may influence surgical training. The aim was to report the charge of the operating surgeon and the bedside assistant at robot-assisted procedures in urology, gynecology, and colorectal surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A review of hospital charts from surgical procedures during a 1-year period from October 2013 to October 2014. All robot-assisted urologic, gynecologic, and colorectal procedures were identified. Charge of both operating surgeon in the console and bedside assistant were registered.

RESULTS: A total of 774 robot-assisted procedures were performed. In 10 (1.3%) of these procedures, a resident attended as bedside assistant and never as operating surgeon in the console.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate a severe problem with surgical education. Robot-assisted surgery is increasingly used; however, robotic surgical training during residency is almost nonexisting.