Does laparoscopic experience affect the acquisition of initial robotic skills? A systematic review.

Surgical robotics has become an integral component of modern minimally invasive surgery, with widespread adoption across nearly all surgical specialties and a continuously increasing procedural volume worldwide. The growing predominance of robot-assisted procedures has raised concerns regarding surgical training, particularly whether reduced exposure to conventional laparoscopy may affect skill acquisition among trainees. Consequently, the optimal role of laparoscopic experience in robotic surgery training remains debated, prompting this review to evaluate whether laparoscopic skills transfer to robotic platforms. This study presents a comprehensive review of the literature evaluating the impact of prior laparoscopic experience on the acquisition of initial robotic surgical skills. A comprehensive and systematic search of the literature was conducted across following databases: PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, clinicaltrails.gov and guideline.gov. The present systematic review was performed in compliance with PRISMA statement recommendations. Fourteen of the 30 included studies (47%) demonstrated evidence in favor of laparoscopic skill transfer to robotic initial performance. In four studies, no definitive conclusions regarding skill transfer could be drawn. Although some studies suggest that prior laparoscopic experience may ease the early learning phase of robotic surgical skills, particularly for complex tasks and among novice learners, this transfer is neither absolute nor sufficient to replace dedicated robotic training, which should be considered as the primary method for acquiring robotic surgical skills.