High-Volume Surgeons Have Fewer Complications

A study has confirmed what has often been assumed: surgeons who perform a high volume of procedures have a much lower rate of complications than surgeons who perform fewer procedures. The findings were published in the February 1, 2003, issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Investigators examined the medical records of 2,292 men who were 65 and older, who underwent radical prostatectomy. In-hospital complications included cardiac, respiratory, vascular, wound, genitourinary, and other medical conditions. Surgeons and hospitals were classified as high- or low-volume depending on cumulative operative experience. The results showed that low-volume surgeons had twice the in-hospital complications rate of high-volume surgeons, and their patients were hospitalized one day longer on average.

"It might seem intuitive that the more surgeries you perform, the better you get,” said senior author Mark S. Litwin, professor of urology at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine (UCLA, USA; www.medsch.ucla.edu). "But there is growing interest in the association of case volume and surgical outcome. We are seeing increased attention to improving the quality of services in health-care settings.”






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