People operated on by female surgeons are less likely to experience complications or need further post-operative treatments than when men use the scalpel, according to two studies that suggest surgeons should take a cue from their colleagues.
Doctors in Canada and Sweden reviewed records of more than 1 million patients from two medical registries and found that patients seen by female surgeons had significantly better outcomes with fewer complications in the months after surgery.
Researchers are investigating possible reasons for this difference, but the data suggest that surgeons tend to operate more slowly and may achieve better results by staying longer in the operating room.
Dr. Christopher Wallis, who led one of the studies at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, said the data should prompt male surgeons to reflect on their approach to surgery and learn from female colleagues for the benefit of their patients.
"As a male surgeon, I think these data should make me and my colleagues stop and think about why this might be happening," he said.
The study was published in JAMA Surgery .
