Hospitals with high surgical volume often experience better outcomes than hospitals with lower surgical volumes, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in San Diego. Researchers examined the outcomes of 77,616 men undergoing radical prostatectomies in 2009 and confirmed that those performed with robot assistance were associated with more favorable outcomes than traditional open surgery. However, the results also showed that open surgeries performed at very high volume centers resulted in less complications than robot-assisted surgeries at low-volume centers.
The researchers conclude that hospital volume directly influences outcome and should be considered when evaluating new surgical techniques.
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