Surgeons need to know that 39% of countries provide timely access to essential surgery, underscoring a significant global shortfall in surgical care. Only 50.3% of countries meet benchmarks for surgical workforce density. 31.5% of countries report adequate surgical volume, with no country-level benchmarks on perioperative mortality. Integrating standardized surgical metrics into health systems is essential […]

This study assessed shared decision-making among thousands of surgeons, revealing critical insights for improving patient outcomes. Only 1.2% of surgeons achieved top scores in shared decision-making, while 64% of patients felt their surgeons performed adequately. Male surgeons, those in cardiothoracic specialties, and surgeons with over 31 years of practice were linked to lower decision-making scores. […]

This study develops a practical implementation framework for integrating data-driven surgical metrics into training, improving assessment reliability and trainee outcomes. Engaged 54 trainees and trainers from 13 countries through workshops to inform framework development. Prioritized real-time feedback for technical skills and dashboards for non-technical skills to provide objective performance insights. Making surgical training more data-driven […]

Surgeons play a crucial role in tackling persistent cancer care disparities among marginalized populations. Marginalized groups experience higher cancer risks but often miss essential screenings and guidelines. Continued efforts are necessary to identify root causes and craft targeted interventions. Implementing these strategies can lead to more equitable oncologic outcomes for all patients. Collaboration with multidisciplinary […]

Productivity-focused models (WRVU and fee-for-service) incentivize higher volume but overlook case complexity and outcomes. Hybrid models blend base salary with incentives for quality and academic contributions, offering flexibility but requiring more management. Value-based models are underused and may have unintended consequences. Surgeons must be aware of these models to optimize practice, support broader responsibilities, and […]

A multimodal prehabilitation program enhances functional capacity and body composition before abdominal surgeries for cancer, impacting patient recovery. Participants showed improved peak oxygen uptake by 0.6 ml/kg/min and muscle strength gains of up to 18.9 kg in leg press. However, these improvements were not sustained postoperatively, with measures often returning to baseline or declining. Surgeons […]

Surgeons now have a validated model to predict acute kidney injury in surgical patients, crucial for improving outcomes and reducing costs. AKI incidence was 1.8% in the training set and 2.4% in the external validation set. The model achieved an AUC of 0.87-0.88 and identified key risk factors: inpatient status, ascites, renal failure, preoperative creatinine, […]

A new nationwide surgical registry in Korea reveals important data on 30-day complications, which can help surgeons improve patient selection and surgical outcomes. Overall 30-day complication rate is 38.7%, with major complications at 12.7% and mortality at 0.59%. Mortality is highest after pancreatic surgery (1.17%) and lowest after gastric surgery (0.16%). Understanding these results can […]

Surgeons need to know that patient privilege significantly affects rates of unplanned surgeries and complications in critical procedures. 55.4% of patients from low-privilege areas experienced unplanned surgeries compared to 39.4% from high-privilege areas. Inpatient mortality was 3.1% for low-privilege patients versus 2.1% for high-privilege; perioperative complications were 30.4% vs 23.8%, respectively. Consider the role of […]