Long-term Outcomes of a Telementoring Program for Distant Teaching of Endovascular Aneurysm Repair

Abstract

The telementoring program followed here allowed excellent EVAR skill assimilation into the routine practice of a remote health care site. Telementoring is a feasible strategy to support skill introduction in remote medical facilities.

Remote-Proctoring bei neuroradiologischen Interventionen

“…Das Konzept des Telementorings wird in der Chirurgie bereits seit mehr als 20 Jahren eingesetzt, wobei sich insbesondere endoskopische Verfahren hierzu anbieten [21]. Aber auch mikroneurochirurgische Operationen [22] und endovaskuläre Eingriffe [23,24] wurden bereits mit dieser Technologie begleitet.…”

“…In insgesamt zwölf dieser Studien wurde das Telementoring direkt mit dem Mentoring vor Ort verglichen. So schlussfolgern die Autoren basierend auf den sehr guten Langzeitergebnissen nach Implantation von Aortenstents, dass das Telementoring eine ausgezeichnete Einübung endovaskulärer Fähigkeiten in die Routinepraxis in abgelegenen Gesundheitsversorgungsstandorten ermöglicht [24]. Sieben (58 %) zeigten keinen Unterschied in den Ergebnissen zwischen Telementoring und Vor-Ort-Betreuung.…”

CORR Insights®: Structured-mentorship Program for Periacetabular Osteotomy Resulted in Few Complications for a Low-volume Pelvic Surgeon

“…For example, in laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, telementoring was shown to be feasible, and it resulted in positive evaluations from participating surgeons, as well as integration of new techniques into their surgical practice [8]. In Switzerland, a formal telementoring program safely introduced endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms in a remote center with good integration of the surgical technique into future surgical practice [11]. Future studies should compare the different types of formal mentoring programs to determine their relative effectiveness, surgeon interest in utilization of technologies such as telementoring, and reimbursement considerations for mentoring surgeons.…”

Commentary: Surgical Telementoring as a Means to Disseminate Vascular Expertise Around the World

“…Surgical telementoring is a concept within telemedicine that applies information technology to provide real-time guidance and technical assistance for surgical procedures from an expert physician at a different geographical location. 2 The report from Porretta et al 1 is notably important because…”

“…In the December 2017 issue of the JEVT , Porretta and colleagues 1 report on the long-term outcomes of a telementoring program that aimed to incorporate endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) into clinical practice in a remote hospital. Specifically, 49 patients were subjected to EVAR for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) over a 4-year period, supported by an experienced surgeon located at the University Hospital of Lausanne.…”