ArticleSurgical endoscopy2023
Inguinal hernia surgery learning curves by associate clinicians.
Article in Surgical endoscopy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Monitoring and evaluation strategies for surgical task-shifting and task-sharing interventions: a scoping review.Human resources for health · 2026Article
- A retrospective noninferiority study of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair feasibility for recently graduated surgeons in Thailand.Journal of minimally invasive surgery · 2024Article
- Trends in minimally invasive and open inguinal hernia repair: an analysis of ACGME general surgery case logs.Surgical endoscopy · 2024Article
- Effects of non-technical skill-based surgical education for trainees on herniorrhaphy outcomes.PloS one · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOpen inguinal hernia repair is the most commonly performed procedure in general surgery in sub-Saharan Africa, but data on its learning curve are lacking. This study evaluated the learning curve characteristics to improve surgical training and enable scaling up hernia surgery in low- and middle-income countries.
methodsLogbook data of associate clinicians enrolled in a surgical training program in Sierra Leone were collected and their first 55 hernia surgeries following the Bassini technique (herniorrhaphies) were analyzed in cohorts of five cases. Studied variables were gradient of decline of operating time, variation in operating time, and length of stay (LOS). Eleven subsequent cohorts of each five herniorrhaphies were investigated.
resultsSeventy-five trainees enrolled in the training program between 2011 and 2020 were eligible for inclusion. Thirty-one (41.3%) performed the minimum of 55 herniorrhaphies, and had also complete personal logbook data. Mean operating times dropped from 79.6 (95% CI 75.3-84.0) to 48.6 (95% CI 44.3-52.9) minutes between the first and last cohort, while standard deviation in operating time nearly halved to 15.4 (95% CI 11.7-20.0) minutes, and LOS was shortened by 3 days (8.5 days, 95%CI 6.1-10.8 vs. 5.4 days, 95% 3.1-7.6). Operating times flattened after 31-35 cases which corresponded with 1.5 years of training.
conclusionsThe learning curve of inguinal hernia surgery for associate clinicians flattens after 31-35 procedures. Training programs can be tailored based on this finding. The recorded learning curve may serve as a baseline for future training techniques.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.