Single-Incision Transumbilical Surgery (SITUS) versus Single-Port Laparoscopic Surgery and conventional laparoscopic surgery: a prospective randomized comparative study of performance with novices in a dry laboratory

Purpose To evaluate the Single-Incision Transumbilical Surgery (SITUS) technique as compared to an established laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) technique ( Single-Port Laparoscopic Surgery , SPLS) and conventional laparoscopy (CLS) in a surgical simulator model. Methods Sixty-three medical students without previous laparoscopic experience were randomly assigned to one of the three groups (SITUS, SPLS and CLS). Subjects were asked to perform five standardized tasks of increasing difficulty adopted from the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery curriculum. Statistical evaluation included task completion times and accuracy. Results Overall performances of all tasks (except precision cutting) were significantly faster and of higher accuracy in the CLS and SITUS groups than in the SPLS group ( p = 0.004 to p