Do women make better surgeons than men?

Researchers discovered patients who underwent operations by female surgeons reported lower death rates, fewer complications and lower readmissions to the hospital one month after their procedure, according to a recent study published in the journal BMJ.

For the study, researchers included all 104,630 people living in Ontario, Canada, who underwent at least one of 25 surgical procedures between 2007 and 2015, and the 3,314 surgeons who conducted the operations. Of those surgeons, 774 were female, while 2,540 were male. Researchers proceeded to match patients who underwent surgeries performed by female surgeons to those who underwent the same operation performed by a male surgeon, accounting for various characteristics such as a patient's age, sex and comorbidity, and surgeon volume, age and hospital.

Study authors concluded fewer patients died, were readmitted to the hospital or had complications one month after surgery when treated by a female surgeon than a male surgeon.

"If we really believe that the differences we saw among male and female surgeons is true, then what we need to do is better understand what actually is driving those differences," said Raj Satkunasivam, MD, a urologist at Houston Methodist Urology Associates and the study's lead author. "Once we understand those differences, we can potentially apply them to train surgeons better and instill those qualities in all surgeons to improve outcomes for everyone."

However, Dr. Satkunasivam said gender shouldn't be a factor when considering a surgeon.

"[A patient] should select a surgeon based on the rapport you have with him or her, what your family physician recommends and the research you do," he said. "You should be equally confident with a male or female surgeon."

 

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