Intracorporeal vs. extracorporeal open and closed knot tying techniques in laparoscopy: A randomized, controlled study

Kathrin B Labrosse; Claudia Marinho; Bernhard Fellmann-Fischer; Franziska Geissler; Andreas Schötzau; Viola Heinzelmann-Schwarz; Tibor A Zwimpfer

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25178

Intracorporeal vs. extracorporeal open and closed knot tying techniques in laparoscopy: A randomized, controlled study

Heliyon. 2024 Jan 26;10(3):e25178. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25178. eCollection 2024 Feb 15.

Authors

Kathrin B Labrosse^{1

2}, Claudia Marinho³, Bernhard Fellmann-Fischer¹, Franziska Geissler¹, Andreas Schötzau², Viola Heinzelmann-Schwarz^{1

2}, Tibor A Zwimpfer^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gynecological Oncology, University Hospital Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland.
² Department of Biomedicine, University Basel and University Hospital Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland.
³ Medical Faculty, University Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.
⁴ Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, 3000, Victoria, Australia.

Abstract

Objective: Tying knots during suturing is one of the most challenging tasks in laparoscopic surgery. Therefore, measures aimed at ensuring both the ease and speed of knot tying not only benefit the surgeon but can also reduce operating time significantly. This study compared extracorporeal and intracorporeal knot tying techniques using a Szabo pelvic trainer model from the Gynaecological Endoscopic Surgical Education and Assessment program.

Design: The students tied intra- and extracorporeal knots using closed- and open-jaw knot pushers. Using an artificial tissue suturing pad in a certified Szabo pelvic trainer, students tied three knots using each technique according to block randomization. Task completion time, knot strength, knot-spread ability, and number of errors were recorded. The Wilcoxon test and mixed-effects models were used to analyze the results. After completing the exercises, participants answered a questionnaire concerning knot-tying techniques and their performance.

Setting: University Hospital Basel, which provides tertiary-level clinical care.

Participants: Fifty-seven medical students with no experience in laparoscopy voluntarily signed up for this study.

Results: Open and closed extracorporeal knot tying was significantly faster (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively), more precise (p = 0.007, p = 0.003), and associated with reduced knot-spread ability (p < 0.001, p < 0.001) compared to intracorporeal knot tying. Open- and closed-jaw knot pushers were shown to be equal in terms of speed (p = 0.563), knot-spread ability (p = 0.49), and precision (p = 0.831). The study participants rated open (30 %) and closed (49 %) extracorporeal knot tying as more intuitive than intracorporeal (21 %) knot tying. Improved concentration was significantly correlated with tighter knots (p = 0.011).

Conclusions: Students achieved significantly better results using extracorporeal knot-tying techniques than intracorporeal ones, including greater speed, tighter knots, and optimized precision. These results suggest that beginners in the field of laparoscopy should be encouraged to practice extracorporeal knot-tying techniques.

Keywords: Box trainer; Education; Extracorporeal and intracorporeal knots; Knot-tying techniques; Laparoscopy; Suturing techniques; Validated exercise.