Laparoscopic Trainers and Surgical Virtual Simulators in Laparoscopic Learning Curve

Robotic Surgery is a current procedure in endosurgery, but literature has not addressed the learning curve for the use of the robotic assisted surgery. The learning curve for robot surgical procedures varies widely. Apart from innate skill, learning curves are composed of at least two fundamentals related to the volume of cases and the incidence rate. Commonly cited reasons include lack of adequate training in residency programs because of the time devoted to abdominal, vaginal, and obstetric procedures, lack of available and adequate training opportunities outside of dedicated fellowships, lack of proctors and mentor surgeons in communities to help to further advance the skills of younger surgeons, and lack of desire to leave established surgical practices to try to develop skills requiring long learning curves to master. Currently, the training involves practice with the surgical robot in either pig or human fresh tissue in a laboratory environment in order to become familiar with the functions of the robot, the attachment of the robotic arms to the robotic trocars, and the overall functions of the robotic console. In this chapter authors reviewed current literature on learning curve in robotic assisted surgery and screened problems linked to robotic surgical skills.