TY - JOUR
T1 - Safe introduction of a new surgical technique
T2 - Remote telementoring for posterior retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy
AU - Miller, Julie A.
AU - Kwon, David S.
AU - Dkeidek, Amira
AU - Yew, Ming
AU - Hisham Abdullah, An
AU - Walz, Martin K.
AU - Perrier, Nancy D.
PY - 2012/11
Y1 - 2012/11
N2 - Background: Posterior retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy (PRA) is a safe and effective approach to adrenalectomy, offering less pain and faster recovery than open or laparoscopic surgery. Although the popularity of PRA is increasing, few surgical centres have extensive experience with the procedure. The ideal approach to achieve proficiency with any new technique involves on-site observation of an experienced surgeon-mentor, followed by mentored hands-on experience of the surgeon-learner. However, it is not always feasible for a surgeon-mentor to offer on-site supervision to the surgeon-learner in his or her home institution. Advances in Internet applications have made remote telementoring a viable alternative to on-site mentoring in selected situations. Methods: We describe our experience in safely introducing PRA to Melbourne, Australia, where no highly experienced surgeon-mentors were available. A surgeon with experience of 12 PRA procedures attended from interstate, along with live telementoring via Skype video link by an overseas surgeon who had performed more than 200 PRA procedures, to mentor the surgeon-learner performing her first three cases. Results: The operating surgeon's first three PRA procedures proceeded uneventfully, with no complications, relatively short operative times and one-night hospital stays for all three patients. Twenty-two more have been performed since, without complications. Conclusion: Remote telementoring is a safe and feasible way to assist surgeons in safely introducing new techniques. This strategy is particularly applicable in centres where no surgeon-mentor is locally available. It is important that the surgeon-learner has the skills and experience to complete the procedure using alternative techniques in the case of complications or technical failure.
AB - Background: Posterior retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy (PRA) is a safe and effective approach to adrenalectomy, offering less pain and faster recovery than open or laparoscopic surgery. Although the popularity of PRA is increasing, few surgical centres have extensive experience with the procedure. The ideal approach to achieve proficiency with any new technique involves on-site observation of an experienced surgeon-mentor, followed by mentored hands-on experience of the surgeon-learner. However, it is not always feasible for a surgeon-mentor to offer on-site supervision to the surgeon-learner in his or her home institution. Advances in Internet applications have made remote telementoring a viable alternative to on-site mentoring in selected situations. Methods: We describe our experience in safely introducing PRA to Melbourne, Australia, where no highly experienced surgeon-mentors were available. A surgeon with experience of 12 PRA procedures attended from interstate, along with live telementoring via Skype video link by an overseas surgeon who had performed more than 200 PRA procedures, to mentor the surgeon-learner performing her first three cases. Results: The operating surgeon's first three PRA procedures proceeded uneventfully, with no complications, relatively short operative times and one-night hospital stays for all three patients. Twenty-two more have been performed since, without complications. Conclusion: Remote telementoring is a safe and feasible way to assist surgeons in safely introducing new techniques. This strategy is particularly applicable in centres where no surgeon-mentor is locally available. It is important that the surgeon-learner has the skills and experience to complete the procedure using alternative techniques in the case of complications or technical failure.
KW - Laparoscopic adrenalectomy
KW - Posterior retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy
KW - Safe implementation of new technology
KW - Telementoring
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.2012.06188.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.2012.06188.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 23013552
AN - SCOPUS:84868545022
SN - 1445-1433
VL - 82
SP - 813
EP - 816
JO - ANZ journal of surgery
JF - ANZ journal of surgery
IS - 11
ER -