Creating a Proficiency-Based Virtual Reality Simulation Training Programme for Laparoscopic Assisted Colectomy

NCT ID: NCT00752817

Last Updated: 2008-10-07

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

16 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2008-09-30

Study Completion Date

2009-09-30

Brief Summary

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Laparoscopic Colectomy is an advanced minimally invasive procedure that requires advanced laparoscopic skills.

Minimally invasive surgery offers many advantages to the patients but exposes the surgeon to new challenges, many of which are human factor in nature. This in turn prolongs the learning curve and has delayed the widespread adoption of minimally invasive surgical techniques in the management of patients with colorectal disease.

Virtual reality simulation offers an effective way of training whereby surgical trainees can train repeatedly and achieve proficiency in a shorter time and a safe environment.

Detailed Description

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Introduction:

Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) has conferred considerable advantages on patient's post operative outcome and recovery when compared with open surgery.

Major clinical trials including; Clinical Outcomes of Surgical Therapy Study Group (COSTSG), Colon Cancer Laparoscopic or Open Resection (COLOR), and Conventional vs. Laparoscopic-Assisted Surgery in Colorectal Cancer (CLASICC) have uniformly and consistently shown a significant reduction in the post operative pain, the use of narcotics and oral analgesics, and length of hospital stay, as well as a faster resumption of diet, return of bowel function when using a MIS approach.

Despite all these advantages to the patients, MIS imposed a significant difficulty on the surgeons. These difficulties were primarily human factor in nature.

The use of Virtual Reality (VR) simulation has been proven to help in the acquisition of MIS skills. The use of proficiency-based, virtual reality simulation should help training of MIS providers in a safe environment where complex tasks can be repeated as many times as needed to achieve a pre-set proficiency level. A well designed proficiency-based simulation curriculum should help the widespread use of the MIS approach.

Aims

Primary:

We aim to prove that subjects randomised to train under a proficiency-based progression simulation curriculum (SC) will learn to perform laparoscopic assisted colectomy faster, complete more surgical steps and commit fewer operative errors compared to subjects randomised to the current surgical training curriculum (CC)

Secondary:

We aim to set the institutional and national proficiency level for Laparoscopic Assisted Colectomy (LAC) using the ProMIS-LAC simulator from Haptica, Ireland.

Methods Randomised, controlled, single blinded, multicentre study. Primary Variable 8 centres, 8 co-investigators (expert consultant laparoscopic colorectal surgeons \> 300 MIS procedures) and 16 surgical trainees will be recruited for the study. Subjects (surgical trainees) will be randomised into;

* Simulator Curriculum (SC) group.
* Conventional Curriculum (CC) group.

Subjects randomised to the CC group will continue to have the conventional training programme offered at their respective hospitals. Subjects randomised to the SC group will complete a standardised laparoscopic skills training course followed by a training curriculum including the performance of simulated LAC procedures in nine predetermined steps on the simulator. Subjects must reach a predetermined proficiency level to complete the simulation training course before re-joining their training programme offered at their respective hospitals. .

Upon completion of the training courses, both groups' subject populations will perform a total of five LAC procedures on consecutive patients in the presence of a surgeon proctor.

Patients indicated for LAC procedure will be screened, consented, and enrolled as patients into this study. Each procedure will be recorded and forwarded to the chief investigator for analysis. The number of completed surgical steps and the incidence of intraoperative errors between the two SC and CC groups will be evaluated via blinded video review.

Secondary Variable

All participating co-investigators will participate in defining the proficiency level for LAC on the ProMIS-LAC simulator.

The average values of the recorded metrics which are obtained from the expert performance will be used to set the proficiency level.

Conditions

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Colorectal Disease

Keywords

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Virtual Reality Simulator Proficiency Laparoscopic Colectomy Education Surgical Training

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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SC

Subjects (surgical trainees) randomised to train under a proficiency-based progression virtual reality simulation curriculum

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Proficiency-based virtual reality simulation training

Intervention Type OTHER

Subjects (surgical trainees) will be trained under a proficiency-based virtual reality simulation training programme before performing their first live case

CC

Subjects (surgical trainees) randomised to the current surgical training curriculum

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Training under the current surgical training programme

Intervention Type OTHER

Subjects (surgical trainees) will continue to train under the current training methodology offered at their institution before they perform their first live case.

Interventions

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Proficiency-based virtual reality simulation training

Subjects (surgical trainees) will be trained under a proficiency-based virtual reality simulation training programme before performing their first live case

Intervention Type OTHER

Training under the current surgical training programme

Subjects (surgical trainees) will continue to train under the current training methodology offered at their institution before they perform their first live case.

Intervention Type OTHER

Other Intervention Names

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Simulation Curriculum SC Current Curriculum CC

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Classified as year 3-5 post graduation registrars, specialist registrars or residents in surgery.
* Completed their Basic Surgical Training programme.
* Completed at least 12 months period on a Higher Surgical Training programme.
* In an accredited surgical post at time of participation
* In a colorectal surgery rotation at time of participation
* Signed their own consent form


* Indicated for a laparoscopic assisted sigmoid colectomy or high anterior resection
* At least 18 years old upon date of signing the informed consent document (ICD)
* Sign their own ICD

Exclusion Criteria

* Performed, as primary surgeon, \> 10 advanced laparoscopic procedures (laparoscopic cholecystectomy, inguinal hernia, appendectomy, Nissen fundoplication, or ventral incisional hernia repair are not considered advanced laparoscopic procedures )
* Performed, as primary surgeon, laparoscopic assisted colectomy procedures
* Performed, as primary surgeon, any hand-assisted laparoscopic colectomy procedures
* Did not sign their own consent form


* History or current diagnosis of synchronous colon cancer
* Indicated for urgent surgery
* Indicated for diverting stoma
* American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) Classification of Physical Status IV-V
* Tumour classified as T4
* An obstructed colon
* Planned early conversion based on findings at operative visualisation.
* Pregnancy
* \< 18 years of age
* Mental disability
* Did not sign their own ICD
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Health Service Executive

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)

Principal Investigators

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Paul Neary, MD, FRCSI

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Locations

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Mercy University Hospital

Cork, , Ireland

Site Status RECRUITING

AMNCH

Dublin, , Ireland

Site Status RECRUITING

St. Vincent's University Hospital

Dublin, , Ireland

Site Status RECRUITING

Beaumont Hospital

Dublin, , Ireland

Site Status RECRUITING

AMNCH

Dublin, , Ireland

Site Status RECRUITING

Tullamore general hospital

Tullamore, , Ireland

Site Status RECRUITING

Antrim Area Hospital

Antrim, , United Kingdom

Site Status RECRUITING

Gartnavel General Hospital

Glasgow, , United Kingdom

Site Status RECRUITING

Leicester Royal Infirmary Hospital

Leicester, , United Kingdom

Site Status RECRUITING

Freeman Hospital

Newcastle, , United Kingdom

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Ireland United Kingdom

Central Contacts

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Musallam A Al-Akash, MBBS, MRCSI

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +35314022703

Email: [email protected]

Facility Contacts

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Michael O'Riordain, MD, FRCS

Role: primary

Dairmuid O'Riordain, MD, FRCSI

Role: primary

Desmond Winter, MD, FRCSI

Role: primary

Deborah McNamara, MD, FRCSI

Role: primary

Paul Neary, MD, FRCSI

Role: primary

Dermot Hehir, FRCSI

Role: primary

Colman Byrnes, MD, FRCS

Role: primary

Richard Molloy, MD, FRCS

Role: primary

Andrew Miller, MD, FRCS

Role: primary

Alan Horgan, MD, FRCS

Role: primary

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Other Identifiers

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RCSI 3

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id