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2012-01-11 13:36:57
By Michelle Roberts Health reporter, BBC News
If you are due to have an operation, it might be worth checking the age of your
surgeon beforehand, say researchers who claim age influences acumen.
Although inexperience is an obvious disadvantage, having been in the profession
for decades is not desirable either, they say.
Middle-aged surgeons in their 40s and late 30s are safest, they suggest.
The small study, published at bmj.com, looked at operative complications across
five hospitals in France.
Age over experience
This revealed that patients undergoing one surgical procedure - thyroid gland
removal - were more likely to have complications when operated on by
inexperienced surgeons and those who had been in the job for more than 20
years.
The analysis looked at more than 3,500 of these operations carried out by 28
surgeons.
Start Quote
Given the pace of change in medical innovation it is certain that a surgeon at
the end of his career will be undertaking a nearly completely different range
of operations than at the outset
Prof Mike Larvin Royal College of Surgeons
The researchers chose to look thyroidectomy because the procedure is,
generally, carried out in the same way by all surgeons and has not changed
substantially over the past few decades.
The link they found between a surgeon's age and complication rates was
irrespective of how complex the surgical case list was, which suggests it
wasn't because the older, more experienced surgeons were seeing the
"harder-to-treat" patients.
But experts stress the studies findings are not conclusive and more
investigations are needed to ensure surgeons stay on top form.
The researchers from the University of Lyon said: "Optimum individual
performance in thyroid surgery cannot be passively achieved or maintained by
accumulating experience.
"Factors contributing to poor performance in very experienced surgeons should
be explored further."
Prof Mike Larvin, of England's Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), said it was
important for surgeons to keep honing their skills.
"Given the pace of change in medical innovation it is certain that a surgeon at
the end of his career will be undertaking a nearly completely different range
of operations than at the outset.
"This interesting study shows the importance of lifelong learning for surgeons
- something the RCS supports by directly running courses for trainees and
consultants and quality assuring courses run by others.
"We have also set out requirements for continuing professional development for
medical revalidation, a system of regular five-year check-ups on doctor
competence, which starts at the end of this year."