Female GI surgeons in Japan perform fewer procedures than men, but have similar outcomes
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Surgeries performed by female gastrointestinal surgeons in Japan have no significant differences in outcomes compared with those conducted by their male counterparts, according to a study published in The BMJ.
Researchers reported that female general surgeons comprise 32.5% (in 2017) of surgeons in the U.K., 27.9% (in 2019) in Canada and 22% (in 2019) in the U.S., and previous U.S. and Canadian studies have shown female physicians and surgeons are equally or more proficient than their male counterparts. But in Japan, only 5.9% of general and GI surgeries are performed by women.
“In this unique social environment, comparing the outcomes of female and male surgeons is important to encourage women’s choice of a career in surgery and to propose more effective training for female surgeons in Japan,” Kae Okoshi, MD, PhD, FACS, of the department of surgery at Japan Baptist Hospital and Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote.
Seeking to compare differences in surgery-related mortality and postoperative complications between female and male GI surgeons in Japan, researchers gathered data from the Japanese National Clinical Database, which included most surgeries from 2013 to 2017, and the Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery. They evaluated outcomes for 149,193 distal gastrectomy surgeries; 63,417 total gastrectomy surgeries; and 81,593 low-anterior resection procedures.
According to analysis, only 5.5% of distal and total gastrectomy surgeries and 4.6% of low-anterior resection procedures were performed by female surgeons. However, data showed no significant difference in adjusted OR outcomes for the three procedures:
- distal gastrectomy — surgical mortality = 0.98 (95% CI, 0.74-1.29), surgical mortality plus grade 3 or higher Clavien-Dindo complications = 1.03 (95% CI, 0.93-1.14) and pancreatic fistula = 1.16 (95% CI, 0.97-1.38)
- total gastrectomy — surgical mortality = 0.83 (95% CI, 0.57-1.19), surgical mortality plus grade 3 or higher Clavien-Dindo complications = 0.92 (95% CI, 0.81-1.05) and pancreatic fistula = 1.02 (95% CI, 0.84-1.23)
- low-anterior resection procedures — surgical mortality = 0.56 (95% CI, 0.3-1.05), surgical mortality plus grade 3 or higher Clavien-Dindo complications = 1.02 (95% CI, 0.91-1.15) and anastomotic leakage = 1.04 (95% CI, 0.92-1.18).
“The three surgical procedures we analyzed are only representative, but we believe that equality in training, inclusion, mentoring and practice across genders would produce better outcomes,” Okoshi and colleagues wrote.
Reference:
- Study finds no differences in performance between male and female surgeons. www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/study-finds-no-differences-in-performance-between-male-and-female-surgeons/#. Published Sept. 28, 2022. Accessed Oct. 7, 2022.
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