Acquisition and retention of laparoscopic skills is different comparing conventional laparoscopic and single-incision laparoscopic surgery: a single-centre, prospective randomized study

Background Training in laparoscopic surgery is important not only to acquire and improve skills but also avoid the loss of acquired abilities. The aim of this single-centre, prospective randomized study was to assess skill acquisition of different laparoscopic techniques and identify the point in time when acquired skills deteriorate and training is needed to maintain these skills. Methods Sixty surgical novices underwent laparoscopic surgery (LS) and single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) baseline training (BT) performing two validated tasks (peg transfer, precision cutting). The novices were randomized into three groups and skills retention testing (RT) followed after 8 (group A), 10 (group B) or 12 (group C) weeks accordingly. Task performance was measured in time with time penalties for insufficient task completion. Results 92 % of the participants completed the BT and managed to complete the task in the required time frame of proficiency. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that SILS ( P