Colon cancer patients who were operated on by technically skilled surgeons had better survival rates, according to a study published in JAMA Oncology.
Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine researchers discovered that patients operated on by skilled surgeons had a 70 percent lower risk of dying over five years compared to those who had a lower-skilled surgeon.
Researchers reviewed video footage of colon surgeries, providing each procedure a score. They then compared low-scoring surgeons to high-scoring surgeons. Researchers believe skilled surgeons were more likely to remove lymph nodes that contained colon cancer.
Surgeons should work to improve technical skill by undergoing surgical coaching or review taped procedures, the researchers suggested.
More work was needed to determine whether improved surgical skill led to improved technical skills and patient outcomes, the study concluded.