The Effect of Mixed-Task Basic Training in the Acquisition of Advanced Laparoscopic Skills

The aim of this study was to assess whether mixed practice of basic tasks on a virtual reality (VR) simulator improves the performance of advanced tasks on the same device used for training as well as on a video trainer (VT). Thirty-six novices were allocated into 3 equal groups. Each group practiced on different combinations of basic tasks on a VR simulator: (A) peg transfer, (B) peg transfer and clipping, and (C) peg transfer, clipping, and cutting. Before and after training, each group performed a laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) scenario on the simulator and intracorporeal knot tying (KT) on a VT. Assessment metrics included time, instrument’s path length, penalty score, and hand motion synchronization. Results showed that for the common training tasks, plateau values were statistically equivalent for most assessment metrics (P > .05). For LC, all groups showed significant performance improvement (P < .05). For KT, group C improved significantly in pathlength (P < .005), penalty score (P < .05), and hand motion synchronization (P < .05); the other groups failed to show an improvement (P > .05). In conclusion, training on different VR tasks seems to have no effect on the performance of more demanding tasks on the same device. However, the number of different tasks practiced on the VR simulator seems to favorably affect the performance of advanced tasks on the VT.