A recent study suggests the best surgeon for patients who require complex surgery may be the one who is highly specialized in one type of procedure, rather than an active surgeon with a high patient volume in multiple surgeries, according to a study in BMJ covered by the Wall Street Journal.
The study analyzed more than 695,000 operations performed by 25,000 surgeons across the U.S. between 2008 and 2013. Researchers examined patients who had one of eight complex cancer and heart surgeries. The results suggested that for six of the eight procedures, patients were less likely to die in the first month after surgery when the operation they underwent accounted for most of the acting surgeon's overall operations, according to the article.
Researchers then examined physicians who performed specific procedures, such as heart valve replacements, rather than surgeons who specialized in a number of different operations in a given field. The results showed that a surgeon who performs 20 heart valve replacements and no other type of surgery may achieve better results than a surgeon who performs 40 heart valve replacements and 60 other operations, according to the article.
One potential reason mortality rates may be lower for more specialized surgeons is because physicians may be better able to follow evolving science and surgical techniques as they specialize, said Nikhil Sahni, a Harvard University fellow and one of the researchers involved in the study. However, Mr. Sahni also suggests that the lower mortality rates may also be because specialists can avoid the distraction that comes with switching between procedures.