Study: Concurrent surgeries not linked to adverse outcomes

Editor's Note

In this study using data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP), concurrent surgical procedures were not found to increase the risk for adverse outcomes.

The analysis included 1,430 surgeons from 390 hospitals who performed 12,010 concurrent surgical procedures from 2014 to 2015.

Plastic surgery, otolaryngology, and neurosurgery had the highest proportion of concurrent procedures, and spine procedures were the most frequent overall.

Unadjusted rates of death or serious morbidity (9.0% vs 7.1%), reoperation (3.6% vs 2.7%), and readmission (6.9% vs 5.1%) were greater in concurrent vs nonconcurrent procedure patients. However, after propensity score matching and risk-adjustment, there was no significant association of concurrence with any of the outcomes.

The findings do not lessen the need for further studies, self-regulation, and proactive disclosure to patients, the authors say.

Objective: To determine whether concurrently performed operations are associated with an increased risk for adverse events. Background: Concurrent operations occur when a surgeon is simultaneously responsible for critical portions of 2 or more operations. How this practice affects patient outcom...