According to two recent studies published in JAMA Surgery, female surgeons outperform their male counterparts. In an analysis of millions of surgeries performed in Canada and Sweden, the researchers discovered that patients treated by female surgeons fared better 90 days to one year afterward. In the first study, 17 researchers from the United States and Canada examined data from 1.2 million Canadian patients who underwent standard procedures between 2007 and 2020. During data collection, the researchers stated that they controlled for many parameters such as patient age, surgeon experience, and hospital site, among other things that may affect surgical results.
Patients treated by female surgeons experienced postoperative problems around 12.5% of the time, compared to about 14% of patients treated by male surgeons
The study authors discovered that patients treated by female surgeons were less likely to develop unfavorable postoperative complications, including mortality, 90 days and one year after the surgery. Although the changes in outcomes were minor, they remained persistent. Surprisingly, the researchers discovered that the outcomes were slightly poorer when male surgeons treated female patients. Patients treated by female surgeons experienced postoperative problems around 12.5% of the time, compared to about 14% of patients treated by male surgeons 90 days after surgery.
At one year, the gap was wider, with male-treated patients experiencing unfavorable postoperative events 25% of the time, compared to 20% of female-treated patients. The second study included almost 100,000 patients from Sweden who had gallbladder removal surgery. Despite spending more time on the operating table, female surgeons’ patients had shorter hospital stays and less invasive surgeries, according to the study. Their male counterparts spent eight minutes less per operation, but problems such as hemorrhage, intestinal or bowel perforations, bile duct lesions, leaks, and abscesses happened approximately 30% more frequently.
“In clinical practice, it is important to promote safety and caution in favor of speed, especially when we educate younger surgeons, regardless of the surgeon’s gender,” Dr. My Blohm, lead author of the study, was quoted as saying by The Wall Street Journal. Researchers added that the two studies backed up a growing body of literature that points to better health-related results for patients who were treated by female doctors.