Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42439922›Full record

ArticleSurgery today2026

How many years does it take for a general surgeon to gain proficiency in laparoscopic colectomy? a multi-institutional study of a single educational policy in Japan.

Yoichi Yamamoto, Nobuki Ichikawa, Takahisa Ishikawa, Yasuhiro Tani, Hiroki Shomura, Masanori Sato, Hirotaka Shoji, Toshiya Kamiyama, Shuhei Sano, Ryo Takahashi and 7 more

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Article in Surgery today, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Yoichi YamamotoDepartment of Gastroenterological Surgery I, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, North 15, West 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8638, Hokkaido, Japan. n_ichi@pop.med.hokudai.ac.jp.
Nobuki IchikawaDepartment of Gastroenterological Surgery I, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, North 15, West 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8638, Hokkaido, Japan.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8934-9684
Takahisa IshikawaDepartment of Surgery, Asahikawa-Kosei General Hospital, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan.
Yasuhiro TaniDepartment of Surgery, Tomakomai City Hospital, Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan.
Hiroki ShomuraDepartment of Surgery, JCHO Hokkaido Hospital, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Masanori SatoDepartment of Surgery, Sapporo Hokuyu Hospital, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Hirotaka ShojiDepartment of Surgery, Wakkanai City Hospital, Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan.
Toshiya KamiyamaDepartment of Surgery, Seiwa Memorial Hospital, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Shuhei SanoDepartment of Surgery, Sapporo-Kosei General Hospital, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Ryo TakahashiDepartment of Surgery, Hakodate City Hospital, Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan.
Koki ItakuraDepartment of Surgery, Kushiro Rosai Hospital, Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan.
Takanori OhataDepartment of Surgery, Sapporo City Hospital, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Yuichi YoshidaDepartment of Surgery, Abashiri-Kosei General Hospital, Abashiri, Hokkaido, Japan.
Kazuhito UemuraDepartment of Surgery, Kushiro Rosai Hospital, Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan.
Akifumi SawadaDepartment of Surgery, Kushiro Rosai Hospital, Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan.
Akinobu TaketomiDepartment of Gastroenterological Surgery I, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, North 15, West 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8638, Hokkaido, Japan.
Surg1-CRC study group collaboratives

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe point at which surgeons become technically independent in laparoscopic colectomy remains unclear. We analyzed learning curves by postgraduate year (PGY) to determine when proficiency was gained.

methodsWe analyzed 391 laparoscopic colectomies performed by 52 surgeons with ≤ 15 years of experience. The cases were grouped as R (ileocecal/right hemicolectomy) or S (sigmoid colectomy/high anterior resection). Learning curves were evaluated using CUSUM, logistic regression was used to identify the factors influencing operative time, and complication rates by PGY were examined.

resultsThe mean operative time improved from 232 min (4th PGY) to 165 min (7th PGY) in Group R and from 212 min (4th PGY) to 132 min (11th PGY) in Group S. A CUSUM analysis showed plateaus at the 7th PGY for Group R and the 11th PGY for Group S. Logistic regression revealed that the number of surgeries performed before these plateaus independently predicted the operative time (Group R: OR 3.32, p < 0.01; Group S: OR 3.67, p < 0.01). Complication rates peaked in the first two years and around the 12th PGY.

conclusionsSurgical experience improved efficiency, with operative time plateauing at approximately the 11th PGY. Bimodal complication peaks in the first two years and the 12th PGY suggest proficiency after the 13th year.

Indexed as

Laparoscopic colectomyLearning curvePostgraduate yearSurgical training

Identifiers

PMID42439922

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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.