Emergency surgery patients cared for by early-career ‘acute-care’ surgeons have similar mortality rates as patients treated by more senior surgeons, however they are more likely to need to go back to theatre, a US study suggests. 

Researchers from Yale School of Medicine in Connecticut studied the association of surgeon experience with emergency surgery outcomes at five US trauma centres.

Overall, 56 acute-care surgeons operated on 772 patients, with an average age of 50 (61% men) who required emergency general surgery or trauma surgery.

Surgeons were grouped by post-training experience: less than six years (early career); 6-10 years (early midcareer); 11-30 years (late midcareer); and 30 years or more (late career).