Surgeon's view on the limitations of left-handedness during endoscopic surgery

Abstract

Background: The influence of endoscopic surgery on left-handedness is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of left-handedness during endoscopic surgery.

Materials and methods: A survey distributed during the 15th Congress of the Turkish Society of Surgery, held in 2006, was conducted to 194 participants. The survey was focused on hand preference and endoscopic surgery. Besides demographic data and use of endoscopy, lateral predominance, questions related to surgical performance (open and endoscopic), training support during residency, and operating room experiences during endoscopic surgery were assessed.

Results: The laterality preference in performing surgery was left in 9.3% (n = 18). Almost 50% of the left-handed surgeons believed that endoscopic surgery needs to be modified for the left-handed endoscopic surgeon, although 66% reported they had no difficulty while using endoscopic instruments and did not need any modification during surgical endoscopy. Over 86% of all surgeons reported that laterality had no importance for them if they were a patient undergoing endoscopic surgery, while 14% of surgeons refused to be operated on by a left-handed surgeon.

Conclusion: Endoscopic surgery has impact on laterality-related comfort, and technical modifications are warranted for left-handed surgeons. Further research is needed to address questions related to hand dominance in surgical endoscopic skill performance that allows more comprehensive conclusions.