What do Young Colorectal Surgeons Value From Their CRS Residency Training?

OBJECTIVE: Colorectal surgery (CRS) training has seen many changes over the years. This study sought to identify aspects of CRS residency curriculum that were most valued by recent graduates and what changes could be made to improve training. DESIGN: Semistructured interviews were performed with board-certified colorectal surgeons 2 to 7years removed from their CRS residency. Interview responses were qualitatively analyzed and converted to coded, categorizable data. Subjects were recruited via a snowball sampling method. SETTING: Interviews were conducted in person and via telephone with surgeons in a variety of practices across the United States and Canada. Analysis was performed by a team at Lahey Clinic, Burlington, MA, an academic, tertiary care center. PARTICIPANTS: Board certified colorectal surgeons 2 to 7years removed from CRS residency. RESULTS: Twenty surgeons from 11 different CRS residencies were interviewed. At the time of the interview, surgeons were employed in 13 states and 1 foreign country. When asked what aspects of their CRS residency were of value, surgeons produced 74 comments emphasizing: volume of cases (65% of subjects), variety of cases (55%), development of technical skills (40%), management of specific diseases (35%), faculty (30%), mentorship (30%), and practice management (15%). With regard to technical skills, surgeons cited pelvic surgery (40%) and minimally invasive techniques (45%) as the exposures that helped them become successful. When discussing what could be added to training, subjects made 54 comments identifying: more robotic exposure (35%), more anorectal disease (30%), more pelvic floor exposure (25%), and practice management/billing (35%) as items to incorporate. Sixty five percent of subjects believed that "nothing" should be eliminated from their training. CONCLUSIONS: Young colon and rectal surgeons valued their training highly and strongly declined to eliminate any substantial part of the existing curriculum. They also expressed a strong desire to add more elements to the CRS residency including further robotic training, more anorectal, more pelvic floor, and further training in practice management.

Can the national surgical quality improvement program provide surgeon-specific outcomes?

BACKGROUND: Efforts to improve the quality of surgical care and reduce morbidity and mortality have resulted in outcomes reporting at the service and institutional level. Surgeon-specific outcomes are not readily available. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to compare surgeon-specific outcomes from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and 100% capture institutional quality data. DESIGN: We conducted a cohort study evaluating institutional and surgeon-specific outcomes following colorectal surgery procedures at 1 institution over 5 years. PATIENTS: All patients who underwent an operation by a colorectal surgeon at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2012 were identified. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Thirty-day mortality, reoperation, urinary tract infection, deep vein thrombosis, pneumonia, superficial surgical site infection, and organ space infection were the primary outcomes measured. ANALYSIS: We compared annual and 5-year institutional and surgeon-specific adverse event rates between the data sets. In addition, we categorized individual surgeons as low-outlier, average, or high-outlier in relation to aggregate averages and determined the concordance between the data sets in identifying outliers. Concordance was designated if the 2 databases classified outlier status similarly for the same adverse event category. RESULTS: In the 100% capture institutional data, 6459 operative encounters were identified in comparison with 1786 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program encounters (28% sampled). Annual aggregate adverse event rates were similar between the institutional data and the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. For annual surgeon-specific comparisons, concordance in identifying outliers between the 2 data sets was 51.4%, and gross discordance between outlier status was in 8.2%. Five-year surgeon-specific comparisons demonstrated 59% concordance in identifying outlier status with 8.2% gross discordance for the group. LIMITATIONS: The inclusion of data from only 1 academic referral center is a limitation of this study. CONCLUSIONS: Each surgeon was identified as a "high outlier" in at least 1 adverse event category. Comparisons at the annual and 5-year points demonstrated poor concordance between our 100% capture institutional data and the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data.

Laparoscopic total colectomy: an evolutionary experience.

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic total abdominal colectomy and total proctocolectomy are technically challenging operations. Advances in minimally invasive techniques, including sleeveless hand-assist devices, may influence performance of these procedures. This study was designed to evaluate the results of laparoscopic total colectomy and to compare the hand-assisted approach with straight laparoscopy. METHODS: Sequential patients undergoing hand-assisted and straight laparoscopic total abdominal colectomy and total proctocolectomy from 1997 to 2004 were identified from a single institution prospective database involving four colorectal surgeons, of which three had limited laparoscopic experience. Patient characteristics, perioperative parameters, and outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 130 patients were analyzed. Sixty-nine patients underwent total abdominal colectomy (hand-assisted 17 vs. straight laparoscopic 52), and 61 underwent total proctocolectomy (hand-assisted 28 vs. straight laparoscopic 33). For both total abdominal colectomy and total proctocolectomy, the hand-assisted and straight laparoscopic groups were well matched. Although no differences were observed in operative blood loss and intraoperative complications, hand assistance resulted in fewer overall conversions to open (1/45 (2.2 percent) vs. 6/85 (7.1 percent); P < 0.01), with no conversions in the total abdominal colectomy group (0 vs. 9.6 percent; P = 0.05). There was a trend toward reduced operative time with hand assistance, and nonlaparoscopic staff surgeons performed a greater proportion of the hand-assisted cases (22.2 vs. 10.6 percent; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic total colectomy is technically feasible and safe. With a significant reduction in conversions and a greater proportion of cases performed by nonlaparoscopic surgeons, there was an evolutionary shift to a hand-assisted technique. A hand-assisted approach may be a useful alternative to a straight laparoscopic approach for this technically challenging operation.

The fate of the ileal pouch in patients developing Crohn's disease.

PURPOSE: Recent studies have suggested that a subset of patients with Crohn's colitis may have a favorable outcome after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis and have advocated elective ileal pouch-anal anastomosis in selected patients with Crohn's disease. We have not offered ileal pouch-anal anastomosis to patients with known Crohn's disease, but because of the overlap in clinical presentation of ulcerative colitis and indeterminate colitis, some patients receiving an ileal pouch-anal anastomosis are subsequently found to have Crohn's disease. We review our experience with these patients to identify potential preoperative predictors of ultimate pouch failure. METHODS: Patients with a final diagnosis of Crohn's disease were identified from an ileal pouch-anal anastomosis registry. These patients are followed prospectively. Preoperative and postoperative clinical and pathologic characteristics were evaluated as predictors of outcome. Median (range) values are listed. RESULTS: Thirty-two (18 females) patients (4.1 percent) with a final diagnosis of Crohn's disease were identified from a registry of 790 ileal pouch-anal anastomosis patients (1980-2002). Patients underwent ileal pouch-anal anastomosis in two stages (11 patients) or three stages (21 patients). The preoperative diagnosis was ulcerative colitis in 24 patients and indeterminate colitis in 8 patients. Median follow-up was 153 (range, 13-231) months. The median time from ileal pouch-anal anastomosis to diagnosis of Crohn's disease was 19 (range, 0-188) months. Complications occurred in 93 percent, including perineal abscess/fistula (63 percent), pouchitis (50 percent), and anal stricture (38 percent). Pouch failure (excision or current diversion) occurred in nine patients (29 percent) at a median of 66 (range, 6-187) months. Two of these 9 patients had preoperative anal disease (not significant). Comparing patients with failed pouches (n = 9) to patients with functioning pouches (n = 23), post-ileal pouch-anal anastomosis perineal abscess (67 vs. 26 percent, P = 0.05) and pouch fistula (89 vs. 30 percent, P = 0.01) were more commonly associated with pouch failure. Preoperative clinical, endoscopic, and pathologic features were not predictive of pouch failure or patient outcome. For those with a functional pouch, 50 percent have been or are currently on medication to treat active Crohn's disease. This group had six bowel movements in 24 (range, 3-10) hours, with leakage in 60 percent and pad usage in 45 percent. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who undergo ileal pouch-anal anastomosis and are subsequently found to have Crohn's disease experience significant morbidity. Preoperative characteristics, including the presence of anal disease, were not predictive of subsequent pouch failure. We choose not to recommend the routine application of ileal pouch-anal anastomosis in any subset of patients with known Crohn's disease.

Benefits of hand-assisted laparoscopic restorative proctocolectomy: a comparative study.

PURPOSE: Hand-assisted laparoscopic colectomy is thought to facilitate colonic mobilization while maintaining the benefits of laparoscopic surgery. Although previous studies of hand-assisted colectomy have focused on segmental colonic resection, the use of hand-assisted laparoscopic restorative proctocolectomy has not been investigated. This study evaluated the effectiveness of hand-assisted laparoscopic approach compared with a conventional laparoscopic method in patients undergoing restorative proctocolectomy. METHODS: From a prospective database, a consecutive series of patients were identified undergoing conventional and hand-assisted laparoscopic restorative proctocolectomy and results were compared. Twenty-three patients, comprising 10 hand-assisted and 13 conventional laparoscopic patients, were identified. Patient characteristics, perioperative parameters, and outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: Both groups were well matched with no differences in age, gender, body mass index, operative indication, diagnosis, comorbidity, or steroid usage. There were no differences among incision size between the hand-assisted (8 (range, 8-20) cm) and conventional laparoscopic cases (8 (range, 5-10) cm). The median operative time was significantly shorter in the hand-assisted group (247 (range, 210-390) minutes) compared with the conventional laparoscopic group (300 (range, 240-400) minutes; P < 0.01). The length of stay was similar between groups (hand-assisted: 4 (range, 3-13) days vs. conventional: 6 (range, 4-17) days). Complications occurred in four hand-assisted patients (40 percent; 2 ileus, mechanical obstruction, and dehydration) and in four patients undergoing conventional laparoscopic method (31 percent; 2 anastomotic leak, ileus, and mechanical obstruction). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with conventional laparoscopic restorative proctocolectomy, the hand-assisted method resulted in a significant reduction in operative time without detriment to bowel function, length of stay, or patient outcome. The hand-assisted approach to restorative proctocolectomy is likely to replace conventional laparoscopic methods as the preferred laparoscopic approach for this technically challenging procedure.

Is routine pouch surveillance for dysplasia indicated for ileoanal pouches?

PURPOSE: Isolated accounts of neoplastic pouch transformation suggest the need to perform routine ileoanal pouch surveillance with biopsy. These reports imply a model of dysplasia to cancer transformation of the pouch mucosa. More recent reports studying "high risk" ulcerative colitis patients concluded that the development of pouch dysplasia is indeed a rare event. This study was designed to evaluate our institutional incidence of dysplasia in ileoanal pouch during long-term follow-up. METHODS: A prospective database of all patients undergoing ileoanal pouch construction (n = 767) was queried for all patients undergoing pouch biopsy between 1983 and 2001. All patients with ulcerative colitis who underwent pouch biopsy were included. This excluded patients with Crohn's disease, indeterminate colitis, and familial adenomatous polyposis. Pathology reports were reviewed for histologic evidence of inflammation, atypia, metaplasia, dysplasia, or cancer. Patient age at biopsy, pouch age at time of biopsy, and pathology were analyzed. RESULTS: The ileoanal pouches of 160 patients were surveyed with biopsies a total of 222 times. The average length of follow-up from pouch construction to time of surveillance and biopsy was 8.4 +/- 4.6 years. There were 83 patients (52 percent) whose pouches were older than 10 years (mean, 12.7 +/- 2) at time of surveillance. With over 1,800 pouch-years of surveillance, only 1 patient had focal, low-grade dysplasia in the pouch. This patient demonstrated no evidence of dysplasia on further surveillance. CONCLUSION: Even with long-term follow-up of ileoanal pouch patients, there is little evidence to support routine biopsy of the ileal mucosa in ulcerative colitis patients.

Linear pressure profiles and symmetric findings in the stimulated gracilis muscle.

PURPOSE: This is the first report of linear pressure profiles and symmetric findings in preoperative and postoperative (after gracilis muscle retraining) patients. Length of the anal canal and symmetry have been well documented in the literature as significant parameters in the maintenance of anal incontinence. Significant improvement of these parameters should play a critical role in the functional outcome of the stimulated gracilis. METHODS: Six patients underwent preoperative and postoperative anorectal manometry using an eight-channel radial catheter. Pressures were collected at 8 Hz using an automated continuous pullout technique (1 mm/sec). Preoperative and posttraining resting and squeeze pressures, pressure volumes, anal canal length, and linear and cross-sectional images were compared. RESULTS: Resting pressures significantly improved from 13.7 mmHg to 26.8 mmHg (P < 0.02). The squeeze pressure significantly improved from 28.67 mmHg to 62.9 mmHg (P < 0.02). The pressure volume increased from 10,429 mmHg to 26,162 mmHg. Anal canal length increased from an abnormal length of 2.95 cm to normal length of 3.55 cm (P < 0.04). The percentage of sphincter asymmetry decreased from 28.6 percent to 23.5 percent (P < 0.01). The most striking observation was the impact the gracilis muscle had on correcting the geographic cross sections as it wrapped more than 360 degrees from the proximal to distal anal canal. Patients were significantly improved, with four of the six patients completely continent to solid stool. Two of the six patients had minor episodes of seepage. Preoperatively, all patients were grossly incontinent to solid stool. CONCLUSIONS: Significant improvement in resting pressure, pressure volume, anal canal length, and cross-sectional symmetry has led to a significant improvement in anal incontinence after dynamic myoplasty.

Pudendal nerve terminal motor latency testing: assessing the educational learning curve: can we teach our own?

PURPOSE: Pudendal nerve terminal motor latency testing is useful as a diagnostic tool in fecal incontinence. It has also been used as a predictive factor in sphincteroplasty repairs. The technique is seldom taught and mastered in colorectal training programs. The purpose of this study was to assess a learning curve for teaching this procedure. METHODS: The student was a formally trained colorectal surgeon with no pudendal nerve terminal motor latency experience; the instructor has performed more than 3,000 pudendal nerve terminal motor latency studies. Fifty consecutive patients had manometry and pudendal nerve terminal motor latency testing. Both the student and instructor performed pudendal nerve terminal motor latency in a sequential fashion. Variables collected included pudendal nerve terminal motor latency, completion of test, time to complete test, and accuracy of the test. Variables were analyzed with paired t-test and chi-squared analysis. RESULTS: The study group included 41 female and 9 male patients. The average age of the patients was 53 years. Bowel complaints included constipation in 16 and incontinence in 34 patients. Data were analyzed in their entirety and at ten-patient intervals. The student tended to record longer latencies (P < 0.001). This led to false-positive rates of 23 and 21 percent, respectively, for left and right pudendal nerve terminal motor latency. On average, the time to complete the procedure was three times longer for the student than for the instructor (P < 0.001). At ten-patient intervals, the pudendal nerve terminal motor latency difference between the two groups disappeared at the 41-to-50-patient mark. CONCLUSION: Given the proper learning environment, pudendal nerve terminal motor latency testing can be mastered in a relatively short period. On the basis of this study, our estimation is 40 patients are required for a student to master this technique. The novice examiner can expect false-positive results early in the learning curve, and these should be validated accordingly.