Comparison of the learning curve of full-endoscopic discectomy between surgeons who started in 2012 and in 2019

Abstract

Introduction: The learning curve of full-endoscopic discectomy (FED) is well known. However, the learning curve changes due to the contribution of several training courses. The purpose of this study is to compare the learning curve between a surgeon who started the FED-IL procedure in 2012 and a surgeon in 2019.

Methods: We included case from the 1st case of FED to the cases of 6 months. Surgeon A performed FED-IL procedure on 14 patients (10 males and 4 females with a mean age of 48.8±13.5 years) between November 2019 and May 2020. Surgeon B performed FED-IL procedure on 30 patients (14 males and 16 females, mean age 49.9±14.6 years) between October 2012 and April 2013.

Results: The mean operative time for surgeons A and B was 95.8±37.8 minutes and 114.7±37.1 minutes, respectively. The tendency to reduce the operative time was similar for both surgeons A and B (P for interaction=0.319). Using multivariate linear regression analysis, the mean operative time was 23.4 minutes shorter for surgeon A than for surgeon B adjusted for patient age, gender, and surgical level (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Compared to EFD beginner surgeon in 2012, beginner surgeon in 2019 had a shorter EFD-IL surgery time.

Compared to the early years of 2012, EFD-IL learning curve in 2019 shortened. This may be due to the widespread availability of specialized EFD-IL training and other educational programs.