Influence of minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery experience in minimally invasive robotic surgery dexterity

Background: It is unclear if there is a natural transition from robotic to laparoscopic surgery with transfer of abilities. This study aims to measure the performance and learning of basic robotic tasks in a simulator of individuals with different surgical background. Method: Three groups were tested for robotic dexterity: (a) experts in laparoscopic surgery (n=6), (b) experts in open surgery (n=6), and (c) non-medical subjects (n=4). All individuals were aged between 40 -50 years. Five repetitions of 4 different simulated tasks were performed: spatial vision, bimanual coordination, hand-foot-eye coordination and motor skill. Results: Experts in laparoscopic surgery performed similar to non-medical individuals and better than experts in open surgery in 3 out of 4 tasks. All groups improved performance with repetition. Conclusions: Experts in laparoscopic surgery performed better than other groups but almost equally to non-medical individuals. Experts in open surgery had worst results. All groups improved performance with repetition.