The Impact of Resident and Fellow Participation in Transsphenoidal Pituitary Surgery

Objectives/Hypothesis Postoperative complications is an important marker of healthcare quality. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of resident and fellow participation on postoperative complications in transsphenoidal pituitary surgery in a multi‐institutional setting. Study Design Retrospective analysis of population‐based surgical registry. Setting Academic medical center. Methods The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) database was utilized to generate transsphenoidal pituitary surgery patient cohorts. The attending with resident and/or fellow group was compared to the attending alone based on demographics and preoperative and postoperative variables. Results A total of 469 cases were included in the analysis, with 315 performed with resident participation and 154 by attendings alone. The attending group had higher rates of diabetics (20.1% vs. 11.7%, P = 0.015) and patients with a history of previous percutaneous coronary intervention (6.0 vs. 1.6%, P = 0.009). Although the attending group demonstrated higher rates of surgical complications, and the resident/fellow group showed increased incidence in medical and overall complication rates, there was no statistical difference between the two groups. Multivariate analysis further demonstrated lack of significance in complication rates between attendings and residents/fellows. Conclusion Resident and fellow participation in transsphenoidal surgery is not associated with significant differences in surgical complications, medical complications, mortality, operating time, reoperation rates, or readmission rates when compared to attendings. Level of Evidence 4 Laryngoscope, 128:2707–2713, 2018