Measurement of laparoscopic skills in microgravity anticipates the space surgeon

BACKGROUND: There clearly must be a surgical capability to support the exploration of the solar system by humans. We hypothesized that microgravity would impair surgical task performance and sought to measure degree and criticality of task erosion. METHODS: Twenty subjects performed basic laparoscopic exercises (grasping, cutting, clipping, and suturing) in an inanimate trainer on the ground and during the microgravity phase of a parabolic flight. Skill assessment involved time, accuracy, and force transfer. RESULTS: A decrease in the total number of on-target task completions was observed in microgravity compared with the ground performance for all tasks. The ratio between the total number of attempts and the number of completions was higher in microgravity. The amount of force introduced into the system was not significantly higher in microgravity. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that although tasks are performed with much greater deliberation and work in microgravity, there is no barrier to accurate and effective laparoscopic surgery.