 |
|
Impact of Surgeon and Hospital Caseload on the Likelihood of Performing Laparoscopic vs Open Sigmoid Resection for Diverticular Disease—Invited Critique
Michael J. Stamos, MD
Arch Surg. 2007;142(3):259.
|
|
| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
|
|
|
The growth of laparoscopic surgery has accelerated exponentially since the first such procedures were performed in the early 1980s. Although we have gained nearly 15 years of experience since the first published description of minimally invasive approaches to colon surgery in 1991, laparoscopic colectomy is still infrequently performed in the United States despite apparent advantages. This article, using a large administrative database, confirms this fact and sheds some intriguing light on the subject.
First, it is noteworthy that 28 742 surgeons performed only 55 949 sigmoid colectomies over the sample of this database. Although the database is only a sample of 20% of patients undergoing these procedures, this study reveals what a true low-volume surgeon is! A high-volume surgeon is defined as one performing more than 15 sigmoid colectomies per year. This group of surgeons is apparently quite small, accounting for only 0.8% of the patients, whereas the . . . [Full Text of this Article]
AUTHOR INFORMATION
|
