Comparison of Chief Surgeons’ and Assistants’ Feelings of Fatigue Between Laparoendoscopic Single-site and Conventional Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy

Background Our objective was to compare the surgical staff’s feelings of fatigue between laparoendoscopic single-site adrenalectomy (LESS-A) and conventional laparoscopic adrenalectomy (CLA) before and after surgery. Method Data were collected for surgical procedures performed between June 2011 and September 2017 (57 LESS-A and 37 CLA). Each procedure in both groups was performed by the same chief surgeon. The subjective fatigue feelings of the key members of the surgical team (chief surgeon, scopist, assistant surgeon) were assessed using the “Jikaku-sho shirabe” questionnaire, which contained questions about work-related feelings of fatigue. It consisted of 25 subjective items for 5 factors drawn from factor analysis (drowsiness, instability, uneasiness, local pain or dullness, and eyestrain). For each item, the participants were requested to estimate the intensity of their feelings using a five-point rating scale before and after surgery. Results There was no significant difference in operative time ( p = 0.231) between the LESS-A and CLA procedure groups. For the chief surgeon, local pain or dullness ( p = 0.603) and eyestrain ( p = 0.086) were similar between the LESS-A and CLA procedures. The scopists and assistant surgeons in the LESS-A group did not suffer local pain or dullness ( p = 0.793 and p = 0.240, respectively). They did, however, suffer more eyestrain than those in the CLA group ( p = 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). Conclusion Although LESS-A is generally considered to be a technically difficult procedure, the results of this study demonstrate that the feelings of physical fatigue are roughly equivalent between LESS-A and CLA procedures.