Need a surgery: Find out how old the surgeon is

A new study published in the September Annals of Surgery raises questions about when older surgeons should quit the operating room and how they can stay at the top of their game in the final years of their careers.

A new study, published in the September Annals of Surgery, found that for three complicated surgeries, including heart bypass, doctors older than 60 had higher patient death rates, especially if they didn't do very many of the surgeries.

The new study examined Medicare files on 461,000 patients who had one of eight different surgeries. In five of the surgeries, the researchers found surgeon age made no difference in patient death rates. But for pancreas removals, heart bypasses and surgery to clear blocked carotid arteries, the researchers found that older surgeons had higher rates of patient death within 30 days of surgery than younger surgeons.

Previous studies found that older doctors are less likely to know about new treatments and medications than younger doctors. Previous studies also found that older surgeons tend to perform worse on recertification exams.

Some doctors nearing retirement reduce their caseloads, but the study suggests that's not a good idea. Practice keeps skills high, so a reduced workload may not be the best idea.

If you are scheduled to have a surgery ask how many procedures a surgeon does a year.

You should also ask the surgeon about his/her experience with this procedure, his success rate, its outcome, and the hospital or setting in which the operation will be performed. Is the nursing staff accustomed to caring for patients who have had this procedure?

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