Julian Maendel, MD, James Rawles, MD, William Hope, MD, Thomas Clancy, MD. New Hanover Regional Medical Center
Minimally invasive surgery is now the preferred approach to a majority of common surgical diseases. General surgeons with advanced laparoscopic and robotic skills are often sought for both scheduled and urgent intraoperative consultation by a variety surgical specialists, urologists and gynecologists most commonly, as well as other less experienced general surgeons. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the demand for the services of a skilled minimally invasive surgeon at a community hospital.
A prospectively collected database from a single surgeon was queried for procedures identifying the surgeon as consultant from 8/1/2008 to present. Indications for the consultation and the procedure performed were reviewed. Descriptive statistics were applied.
The surgeon was involved in 3,973 cases in which a consultant role was served in 603 (6.6%). Fifteen cases (2.5%) involved proctoring general surgeon working toward obtaining robotic credentials and were excluded from analysis leaving a total of 588 cases. Consultation services were requested in 373 urologic (63%), 106 gynecologic (18%), and 97 general surgery cases (17%). 12 cases (2%) were identified as other. The overwhelming demand was for advanced laparoscopic, hand-assisted laparoscopic, and robotic interventions (447/588; (76%).
Minimally invasive surgeons can serve a vital role as consultants for many surgical services in both the preoperative and intraoperative phases of care. Urology and gynecology are the predominant specialties for whom this multidisciplinary advantage is best exemplified. The majority of consultant cases make use of the laparoscopic or robotic skills of the surgeon and range from assisting other surgeons to performing concomitant general surgical procedures. Patients are served well with a comprehensive application of diverse and current surgical skills in the community hospital setting.
Presented at the SAGES 2017 Annual Meeting in Houston, TX.
Abstract ID: 80556
Program Number: P617
Presentation Session: Poster (Non CME)
Presentation Type: Poster