Female Surgeons Get Better Results Than Male Counterparts

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In a male dominated industry, female surgeons spend more time in the operating room and their patients endure fewer postoperative complications. That’s the conclusion of two research studies published Wednesday in JAMA Surgery.Researchers found better outcomes for patients treated by female surgeons in the sweeping reviews of millions of procedures in Canada and Sweden. In the first study, 17 researchers in the U.S.

and Canada followed the outcomes for 1.2 million patients in Canada undergoing common surgeries between 2007 and 2020. The study authors found that at both 90 days and one year following surgery, patients treated by female surgeons were less likely to experience adverse postoperative issues, including death. The outcome differences were modest, but consistent.

Even after statistically accounting for characteristics that may affect surgical outcomes, such as patient age and overall illness, surgeon experience and volume, hospital setting, and measures of case complexity, the authors reached the same conclusion. The study also found that when male surgeons treat female patients, outcomes are slightly worse. The findings reveal that patients’ outcomes aren’t just about what happens in the operating room, said Dr.

Angela Jerath, an author on the study and anesthesiologist and associate professor at the department of anesthesiology and pain medicine at the University of Toronto. “Picking up problems early is where you start to save patients," she said. Jerathsaid the differences aren’t about technical skill, but about listening to patients and choosing appropriate care.