Advanced Laparoscopic Fellowship and General Surgery Residency Can Coexist Without Detracting from Surgical Resident Operative Experience

Objective: Concern has been voiced that general surgery residents who train at institutions that also offer advanced laparoscopic fellowships may receive inadequate advanced laparoscopic operative experience. The purpose of our study was to compare the operative experience of general surgery residents who graduated from our institution before initiation of an advanced laparoscopic fellowship with the experience of those who graduated after the fellowship began. Methods: Operative case logs of surgery residents who graduated from 2000 through 2007 and of advanced laparoscopic fellows from 2004 through 2007 were reviewed. Surgery resident experience with basic and nonbariatric advanced laparoscopic cases during the 4 years before the fellowship was compared with the experience during the 4 years after the fellowship began. Results: Residents who graduated before 2004 performed a mean of 140.5 ± 19.4 basic and 77.0 ± 17.8 advanced laparoscopic cases during their 5-year residency, compared with 193.3 ± 34.5 basic (p = 0.003) and 113.3 ± 23.5 advanced cases (p = 0.005) performed by those who graduated in 2004 or later. The number of nonbariatric advanced laparoscopic cases performed by each graduating surgical resident during the chief year ranged from 26 to 47 cases from 2000 to 2003 and from 36 to 69 cases from 2004 to 2007. Fellows reported from 40 to 85 nonbariatric advanced laparoscopic cases annually. Conclusions: General surgery residents did not experience a reduction in the total number of basic and nonbariatric advanced laparoscopic cases with the addition of an advanced laparoscopic fellowship, nor did they perform fewer cases during the chief year. As the result of a cooperative venture between the surgery residency and fellowship directors as well as an expansion of the total number of laparoscopic cases performed at our institution because of changes in clinical practice, surgery residents reported an increase in the number of laparoscopic cases while a successful fellowship was established.