Table 2 Intraoperative outcomes according to the learning curve phases
Outcomes | Total (n = 182) | Preliminary phase (1–91) | Transition phase (91–125) | Proficient phase (125–182) | Preliminary VS Transition (P-value) | Preliminary VS Proficient (P-value) | Transition VS Proficient (P-value) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Procedure time, min Median [IQR] | 240 (190–284) | 275 (250–300) | 230 (195–270) | 178.5 (161.5–205) | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | < 0.001 |
Bleeding volume, mL Median [IQR] | 100 (50–100) | 100 (100–200) | 60 (50–100) | 50 (50–80) | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | > 0.99 |
Total lymph nodes Median [IQR] | 18.5 (14–25) | 17 (12–23) | 18 (14–24) | 22 (16–29) | > 0.99 | 0.002 | 0.123 |
Total mediastinal lymph nodes Median [IQR] | 10 (6–14) | 7 (5–11) | 12 (10–16) | 13 (9–18) | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | 0.551 |
RLN-LN | |||||||
Harvest, n [%] | 151 [83] | 65 [71.4] | 32 [91.4] | 56 [96.6] | 0.051 | < 0.001 | > 0.99 |
Quantity Median [IQR] | 5 (4–7) | 5 (4–7) | 7 (4–8) | 6 (5–8) | 0.081 | 0.028 | > 0.99 |
Conversions, n [%] | 4 [2.2] | 3 [3.3] | 1 [2.9] | 0 [0] | > 0.05 | > 0.05 | > 0.05 |
Pathological T, n [%] | > 0.05 | > 0.05 | > 0.05 | ||||
CR | 6 [3.3] | 1 [1.1] | 1 [2.9] | 4 [6.9] | |||
pT1 | 55 [30.2] | 31 [34.1] | 10 [28.6] | 14 [24.1] | |||
pT2 | 36 [19.8] | 22 [24.2] | 7 [20.0] | 9 [15.5] | |||
pT3 | 85 [46.7] | 37 [40.7] | 17 [48.6] | 31 [53.4] | |||
Pathological N, n [%] | > 0.05 | > 0.05 | > 0.05 | ||||
pN0 | 97 [53.2] | 52 [57.1] | 21 [60.0] | 26 [44.8] | |||
pN1 | 50 [27.5] | 26 [28.6] | 9 [25.7] | 15 [25.9] | |||
pN2 | 24 [13.2] | 9 [9.9] | 3 [8.6] | 12 [20.7] | |||
pN3 | 11 [6.0] | 4 [4.4] | 2 [5.7] | 5 [8.6] | |||
Pathological M, n [%] | 3 [1.6] | 0 [0] | 1 [2.9]] | 2 [3.4] | > 0.05 | > 0.05 | > 0.05 |