Medscape: Emergency Surgery Complications, but Not Mortality, Linked With Surgeons' Experience

"Acute-care surgeons must make complex decisions in critically ill patients in a rapid fashion, often with incomplete data," he noted. "The finding that there were no mortality differences between the groups of surgeons studied highlights the high quality of care that these very sick patients received. The reasons for more frequent returns to the operating room are unclear from this study and are worthy of further investigation."

"Within our group, more recently trained surgeons receive very intense mentoring during their initial practice period," he said. "The findings highlight just how critically ill this patient population is and how challenging the care can be."

"The availability of senior surgeons to provide mentorship may vary from institution to institution, or there may be a culture where younger surgeons may be hesitant to ask for help," he added. "The findings highlight the need for a culture of constant communication, liberal use of intra-operative consultation, and a low threshold for calling for help from more senior surgeons."

Read the full story in Medscape.

Learn more about Timothy Pritts, MD, PhD.

Featured image of a general surgery is courtesy of Unsplash.