Age, is it an obstacle for older surgeons to learn laparoscopic approach for colorectal cancer?

Laparoscopic colorectal resection has been extensively accepted for treatment of colorectal cancer. There are several reports about surgeon’s age as a factor to have influence on learning laparoscopic approach, and there is no consensus on this point. This study was designed to evaluate the outcomes of laparoscopic colorectal resection in period of learning curve completed by surgeons with different age in order to make clear whether older surgeons may learn laparoscopic approach more difficultly than younger. From July 2010 to August 2012, the first twenty patients underwent laparoscopic colorectal resection completed by each surgeon were selected for analysis. A total of 240 patients treated by 5 older surgeons with median age of 51 years (range 47–54 years) and 7 younger surgeons with median age of 37 years (range 34–43 years) were divided into group 1 (n = 100) and group 2 (n = 140). The short-term outcomes of laparoscopic surgery of the two groups were compared. Two groups were matched in age, gender, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), etc. The median number of lymph nodes harvested was 18 (range 7–63) in group 1 and 16 (range 3–66) in group 2 (P = 0.003); The median operative time in group 1 was 185 min (range 105–480 min) compared to 235 min (range 120–470 min) in group 2 (P < 0.001), and blood loss were 150 ml (range 50–400 ml) and 200 ml (range 50–800 ml), respectively (P < 0.001); Conversion rate in group 2 was lower than in group 1 (12.0 vs 18.6 %, P = 0.196). The mean time to passing of first flatus was 3 day (range 2–5 day) in group 1 and 4 day (range 2–6 day) in group 2 (P = 0.001). Older surgeons can master the laparoscopic skill more easily and quickly. Age is not an obstacle for older surgeons to learn laparoscopic approach for colorectal cancer.