A new study published October 26, 2022 (citation no. 1 below) revealed that surgeon skill in re-attaching severed fingers and toes varied widely and those skills affect the outcomes of those surgeries. This study supports similar findings of studies looking at the relationship between surgeon skill and outcomes in other types of surgeries. This study, as well as the others cited below, show that the greater the surgeon proficiency the better the outcomes. They suggest that efforts to improve surgeon proficiency will yield better quality of life, and a decrease in financial waste in both direct and indirect costs.

  1. Alfred P. Yoon, MD1; Robert L. Kane, BS1; Leyi Wang, BS2; et alLu Wang, PhD2; Kevin C. Chung, MD, MS1Variation in Surgeon Proficiency Scores and Association with Digit Replantation Outcomes. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(10):e2128765. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.28765
  2. Ericsson  KA, Krampe  RT, Tesch-Römer  C.  The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance.  Psychol Rev. 1993;100(3):363-406. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.100.3.363
  3. Jacobs  DO.  Cut well, sew well, do well?  N Engl J Med. 2013;369(15):1466-1467. doi:10.1056/NEJMe1309785
  4. Rudzinski  JK, Jacobsen  N, Ghosh  S, Fairey  AS.  Between-surgeon variation in 90-day mortality after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer.  J Clin Oncol. 2018;36(6_suppl):512-512. doi:10.1200/JCO.2018.36.6_suppl.512
  5. Xu  T, Makary  MA, Al Kazzi  E, Zhou  M, Pawlik  TM, Hutfless  SM.  Surgeon-level variation in postoperative complications.  J Gastrointest Surg. 2016;20(7):1393-1399. doi:10.1007/s11605-016-3139-6
  6. Healy  MA, Regenbogen  SE, Kanters  AE,  et al.  Surgeon variation in complications with minimally invasive and open colectomy: results from the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative. JAMA Surg. 2017;152(9):860-867. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2017.1527
  7. Udyavar  R, Cornwell  EE, Havens  JM,  et al.  Surgeon-driven variability in emergency general surgery outcomes: does it matter who is on call? Surgery. 2018;164(5):1109-1116. doi:10.1016/j.surg.2018.07.008
  8. Martin  BI, Mirza  SK, Franklin  GM, Lurie  JD, MacKenzie  TA, Deyo  RA.  Hospital and surgeon variation in complications and repeat surgery following incident lumbar fusion for common degenerative diagnoses. Health Serv Res. 2013;48(1):1-25. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6773.2012.01434.x

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured by poor surgeon skill, we may be able to help. Call Girards Law Firm at 214-346-9529 for a free consultation.

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