Objective: To determine the time for us to train a well-trained surgeon to perform septomeatoplasty.
Material and methods: From July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2007, we included 75 patients with nasal septal deviation and chronic hypertrophic rhinitis received septomeatoplasty into this study. All the procedures were performed by four surgeons trained in the same tertiary referral center. We stratified the patients into groups according to the surgeon level at the time of the operations performed. We analyzed the operation time, surgical complications and hospital stay length of these patients.
Results: We stratified the patients according to surgeon years, from year two to year five. The surgical or operation time of the 3rd, the 4th and the 5th year surgeons was statistically shorter than that of the 2nd year surgeons. The operation time of the 4th and 5th year surgeons was statistically shorter than that of the 3rd year surgeons and the operation time of the 5th was also statistically shorter than that of the 4th year surgeons. The hospital stay length of the 4th and the 5th year surgeons was significantly shorter than that of the 3rd year surgeons. No significant difference was noted between that of the 4th and the 5th surgeons. There was no difference on surgical complication among all year group.
Conclusion: Surgeon's years of experience could make the difference on the speed of operation and may also shorten hospital stay length. We conclude that it takes at least five years for us to train a well-trained surgeon for septomeatoplasty.