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Background: Transumbilical laparoscopy-assisted appendectomy (TULAA) is the technique of choice for all types of appendicitis. However, the technique is challenging for trainees to learn in comparison with performing conventional three-port laparoscopic appendectomy (CTPLA) in children. We aimed to compare the surgical outcomes of children with appendicitis treated by TULAA versus CTPLA performed by pediatric surgeons in training (PSITs). Materials and Methods: This retrospective study analyzed pediatric patients with acute appendicitis treated with CTPLA or TULAA between April 2016 and December 2022. Operative time (OT: minutes), pneumoperitoneum time (PT: minutes), blood loss (milliliter), length of hospital stay (days), and surgical site infection rate were compared between the two groups. Operative outcomes were also analyzed according to type of appendicitis such as uncomplicated and complicated cases. Results: Two hundred twenty-five laparoscopic appendectomies were performed by CTPLA ( n  = 94) or TULAA ( n  = 131). All cases were performed by PSITs and there was no open conversion cases. TULAA had a shorter OT (67.0 ± 28.4 versus 78.3 ± 21.7; P  < .01) and PT (26.1 ± 17.4 versus 52.5 ± 22.1 min; P  < .01). The surgical site infection rate was slightly higher in the TULAA group, but the difference was not statistically significant. In uncomplicated appendicitis ( n  = 164), significant differences between the CTPLA and TULAA groups were observed in OT (CTPLA versus TULAA: 70.7 ± 14.9 versus 59.1 ± 21.6, P  < .01) and PT (CTPLA versus TULAA: 43.6 ± 13.1 versus 20.4 ± 13.6, P  < .01). With regard to postoperative complications, only surgical site infection was significantly different between the CTPLA and TULAA groups (CTPLA: 0.0% versus TULAA: 8.2%, P  < .05). In complicated cases ( n  = 61), there were significant differences between the groups in PT (CTPLA versus TULAA: 73.4 ± 24.9 versus 42.3 ± 17.2, P  < .01) and length of hospital stay (CTPLA versus TULAA: 7.0 ± 1.3 versus 8.9 ± 4.7, P  < .05). Conclusions: TULAA had a shorter OT and PT than CTPLA. TULAA for PSITs shows similar safety and feasibility to CTPLA for not only uncomplicated cases but also complicated cases.

Background: Endoscopic surgery also has been becoming widespread in the field of pediatric surgery. However, most disease treated by pediatric surgery in a single institution are small number of cases. Besides, the variety of operative procedures that need to be performed in this field is quite wide. For these reasons, pediatric surgeons have limited opportunities to perform endoscopic surgery. Therefore, it is difficult to introduce advanced endoscopic surgery at a single local hospital. To educate pediatric surgeons in local hospitals, for widespread advanced pediatric endoscopic surgery safely, and to eliminate the need for patient centralization, we have introduced a proctoring system. We compared the surgical results of our institution, a center hospital, with other local institutions, to investigate the feasibility of our proctoring system. Methods: The experienced pediatric surgeon of our institution visits local hospitals to provide onsite coaching and supervises pediatric surgeons on the learning curve. All patients who underwent laparoscopic cyst excision and hepaticojejunostomy for choledochal cysts, one of the advanced pediatric endoscopic surgeries was retrospectively reviewed. Results: Thirty-four cases were evaluated (14 cases in our institution, 20 cases in 9 other institutions). The procedures of all 34 cases were performed by surgeons with 0-2 cases of experience in the procedure. There were no open conversion cases. There was no significant difference in the operative date. There was 1 case (6.7%) of postoperative complications during hospitalization at our institution and 3 cases (14.3%) at other institutions ( P  = .47). Two cases of late complications (13.3%) occurred at our institution, whereas 6 cases (28.6%) occurred at other institutions ( P  = .28). Conclusion: With the proctoring system, the performance and completion of advanced pediatric endoscopic surgery at local institutions was feasible. This has important implications given the ever-growing demand for pediatric endoscopic surgery and the increasing need for competent pediatric endoscopic surgeons.

Background and Aim: Training programs for developing laparoscopic suturing skills range from dry-box training to virtual simulator training. There are advantages and disadvantages to each training method; however, which training is best for medical students and young surgeons is unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the proficiency of medical students in acquiring laparoscopic suturing skills after various routes of short-term training: via a video, an expert teacher, or a virtual simulator. Materials and Methods: Seventeen medical students were registered and divided randomly into three groups: group receiving personal training while watching a training video (video group), group receiving training under the guidance of an expert (teaching group), and group receiving personal training with a virtual simulator (virtual group). The students practiced laparoscopic suturing and tying skills for 1 hour. Following their training, they performed the evaluation task of three sutures and ties using a laparoscopic fundoplication simulator. We developed a 1-year-old infant body model (body weight 10 kg) based on computed tomography data and established a pneumoperitoneum body model based on a clinical situation. Results: The path length of the assistant forceps in the virtual group tended to be longer than in the other groups. The average acceleration of the assistant forceps in the virtual group was faster than in the other groups ( P  = .04). There were no significant differences in the other evaluation parameters. Conclusion: A long-term and combination training study should be performed to develop the best method for training medical students and inexperienced young surgeons.

Purpose: Various studies have shown the benefit of three-dimensional (3D) systems over two-dimensional (2D) systems in endoscopic surgery. However, few studies have focused on pediatric endosurgery. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of 2D and 3D environments on the time taken and forceps manipulation by comparing experts and trainees using a laparoscopic hepaticojejunostomy simulator. Methods: We have developed a simulator of laparoscopic hepaticojejunostomy for congenital biliary dilatation. Seventeen participants of pediatric surgeons (4 experts and 13 trainees) performed hepaticojejunostomy using our simulator in both 2D and 3D environment. We evaluated the required time, total path length, and average velocities of bilateral forceps in both situations. Results: Obtained results show the findings for the required time (seconds; 2D, experts: 810.43 ± 321.64 vs. trainees: 1136.02 ± 409.96, P  = .17) (seconds; 3D, experts: 660.21 ± 256.48 vs. trainees: 1017 ± 280.93, P  = .039), total path length of right forceps (mm; 2D, experts: 38838.23 ± 30686.63 vs. trainees: 52005.47 ± 31675.02, P  = .48)(mm; 3D, experts: 24443.09 ± 12316.32 vs. trainees: 45508.09 ± 26926.27, P  = .16), total path length of left forceps (mm; 2D, experts: 131635.54 ± 71669.94 vs. trainees: 245242.48 ± 130940.25, P  = .48)(mm; 3D, experts: 88520.42 ± 56766.63 vs. trainees: 230789.75 ± 107315.85, P  = .024), average velocities of right forceps (mm/second; 2D, experts: 44.80 ± 21.85 vs. trainees: 44.37 ± 18.92, P  = .97) (mm/second; 3D, experts: 37.28 ± 16.49 vs. trainees: 42.58 ± 14.40, P  = .54), average velocities of left forceps (mm/second; 2D, experts: 156.65 ± 38.69 vs. trainees: 202.58 ± 63.80, P  = .20) (mm/second; 3D, experts: 125.64 ± 44.30 vs. trainees: 219.42 ± 43.82, P  < .01). Conclusion: The experts performed more effectively when using the 3D system. Using 3D, the total path length of the left forceps of expert pediatric surgeons was significantly shorter than trainee pediatric surgeons, and the average velocities of the left forceps tip of expert pediatric surgeons was significantly slower than trainee pediatric surgeons. These results suggest that training of assisting hand is necessary for advanced pediatric endosurgery to avoid organ injury.