[A study of 4,031 patients of transurethral resection of the prostate performed by one surgeon: learning curve, surgical results and postoperative complications].

A total of 4,031 patients who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) performed by one surgeon between May 1979 and December 2003 were retrospectively examined to determine the improvement of the surgeon's skill in performing TURP assessed by using a learning curve, surgical results and postoperative complications. Analysis using the learning curve, which displayed the relationship between the number of TURP procedures and the speed of resection (i.e., the weight of tissue resected divided by the operation time), revealed that 81 operations were needed before the surgeon's skill reached a plateau in performing TURP. The means +/- standard deviations of the weight of tissue resected, operation time and speed of resection were 17.0 +/- 14.6 g, 21.0 +/- 13.5 minutes, 0.80 +/- 0.32 g/minutes, respectively. As the number of TURP procedures increased and the level of skill improved, the operation time was significantly reduced and the speed of resection was significantly increased. The incidences of postoperative complications were 2.4% for blood transfusion, 0.3% for the TURP syndrome, 1.5% for hemostatic procedures, 2.8% for bladder neck contracture, and 1.0% for urethral stricture. The incidences of transfusion and the TURP syndrome decreased as the surgeon's skill improved. The mortality rate was 0.1%.