Retrospective analysis reveals the impact of the learning curve on postoperative outcomes in esophagectomy, suggesting effective training in surgical techniques.
Key Points
The study aims to evaluate the learning curve associated with hybrid robot-assisted Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy and its effects on postoperative outcomes.
Retrospective analysis of consecutive hybrid robot-assisted Ivor-Lewis esophagectomies at a high-volume center.
Cumulative sum (CUSUM) analysis was used to evaluate learning curves for postoperative complications and textbook outcomes.
Data from 71 patients undergoing surgery between May 2023 and October 2025 were analyzed.
In-hospital mortality was 1.4% among the cohort.
Postoperative complications occurred in 29.6% of patients, with anastomotic leakage in 9.9%.
A significant reduction in anastomotic leakage was observed after the first 20 cases, reaching 2% after completing the learning curve.