Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Feb 27, 2021; 13(2): 116-126
Published online Feb 27, 2021. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v13.i2.116
Assistant skill in gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection using a clutch cutter
Mitsuru Esaki, Toshiki Horii, Ryoji Ichijima, Masafumi Wada, Seiichiro Sakisaka, Shuichi Abe, Naru Tomoeda, Yusuke Kitagawa, Kei Nishioka, Yosuke Minoda, Shinichi Tsuruta, Sho Suzuki, Hirotada Akiho, Eikichi Ihara, Yoshihiro Ogawa, Takuji Gotoda
Mitsuru Esaki, Masafumi Wada, Kei Nishioka, Yosuke Minoda, Eikichi Ihara, Yoshihiro Ogawa, Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
Mitsuru Esaki, Toshiki Horii, Ryoji Ichijima, Sho Suzuki, Takuji Gotoda, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo 101-8309, Japan
Seiichiro Sakisaka, Hirotada Akiho, Department of Gastroenterology, Kitakyushu Municipal Medical Center, Kitakyushu 802-0077, Fukuoka, Japan
Seiichiro Sakisaka, Yusuke Kitagawa, Department of Internal Medicine, Saiseikai Fukuoka General Hospital, Fukuoka 810-0001, Japan
Shuichi Abe, Department of Gastroenterology, Hara-Sanshin Hospital, Fukuoka 812-0033, Japan
Naru Tomoeda, Department of Gastroenterology, Clinical Research Institute, National Hospital Organization Kyushu Medical Center, Fukuoka 810-0065, Japan
Shinichi Tsuruta, Department of Anatomic Pathology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
Eikichi Ihara, Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
Author contributions: Esaki M, Horii T, and Ichijima R designed the research; Esaki M drafted and revised the article for important intellectual content; Wada M, Sakisaka S, Abe S, Tomoeda N, Kitagawa Y, Nishioka K, Minoda Y, and Tsuruta S analyzed and interpreted the data; Suzuki S, Akiho H, and Ihara E critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content; Ogawa Y and Gotoda T supervised the whole process; All authors approved the final version of the article.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at Kitakyushu Municipal Medical Center (ID: 20191076).
Conflict-of-interest statement: Seiichiro Sakisaka, Shuichi Abe, Masafumi Wada, Naru Tomoeda, Yusuke Kitagawa, Kei Nishioka, Yosuke Minoda, Shinichi Tsuruta, Hirotada Akiho, Toshiki Horii, Ryoji Ichijima, and Yoshihiro Ogawa have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose. Mitsuru Esaki, Sho Suzuki, and Takuji Gotoda received lecture fees from Fujifilm Medical (Tokyo, Japan). Eikichi Ihara belongs to the endowed course supported by the companies mentioned, including Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Miyarisan Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co., Ltd., Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory, Inc., Fujifilm Medical Co., Ltd., Termo Corporation, Fancl Corporation, and Ohga Pharmacy. Eikichi Ihara received a lecture fee from Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Hands-on seminars were supported by Boston Scientific (Tokyo, Japan). Harvested porcine models, hyaluronic acid solution (MucoUp; Boston Scientific, Tokyo, Japan), and injection needles (SureLIFTERTM, Boston, Tokyo, Japan) were received from Boston Scientific. Clutch Cutter was received from Fujifilm Medical (Tokyo, Japan).
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mitsuru Esaki, MD, Doctor, Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. esaki_saiseikai@yahoo.co.jp
Received: October 17, 2020
Peer-review started: October 17, 2020
First decision: December 1, 2020
Revised: December 13, 2020
Accepted: December 23, 2020
Article in press: December 23, 2020
Published online: February 27, 2021
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

A clutch cutter is used as a scissor-type endoscopic knife in endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) of gastrointestinal tract tumors. Assistant staff support operators to manipulate the endoscopic devices during the ESD procedure. ESD with the clutch cutter (ESD-C) required technical skills for assistant staff to rotate the device and grasp the target tissue.

Research motivation

It is unclear whether the skills of the assistant staff affect the technical outcomes of ESD-C.

Research objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate how the skills of the assistant staff may affect the technical outcomes of ESD-C.

Research methods

A total of 32 ESD-Cs on mock lesions in an ex vivo porcine stomach model were performed by trainees: 16 ESD-Cs were assisted by an expert and the other 16 ESD-Cs were assisted by a non-expert. Technical outcomes were compared between the two groups.

Research results

ESD-Cs were assisted by an expert achieved significantly shorter procedure time, with high curability and low perforation rate compared to ESD-Cs were assisted by a non-expert. Assistant skill was significantly associated with the difficulty of ESD on multivariate analysis.

Research conclusions

Assistant skill is an important factor when trainees perform ESD-C procedures.

Research perspectives

This was an ex vivo porcine model study with small sample size. Validation study in human with large sample size is desired in the future.