Professor Louise King, MD, JD, and Lacey Brennan, MD, MBE '18 coauthored a review of surgical outcomes of benign gynecologic surgery in the September 2018 issue of the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology.

Read the abstract below or access the full article.

High-volume surgeons demonstrate reduced perioperative complications, shorter operative times, and reduced blood loss during multiple modalities of benign gynecologic surgery. Furthermore, high-volume surgeons consistently demonstrate higher rates of minimally-invasive approaches, low rates of conversion to laparotomy, and lower per-procedure case costs. It is suggested that surgeons who have completed post-residency training have improved surgical outcomes, though this data is limited. Surgical exposure in OB/GYN residency is varied and does not consistently meet demonstrated surgical learning curves. Deficiencies in residency surgical training may be related to the volume-outcome relationship. We suggest reforming residency surgical training and tracking post-residency practice to provide optimal surgical care. Additionally, surgeons may have an ethical obligation to inform patients of their surgical volume and outcomes, with options for referrals if needed.