Women surgeons face higher rates of pregnancy complications and infertility, and hazards in the operating theatre may be contributing, a review suggests.

Surgeons are exposed to potential reproductive risks including radiation, surgical smoke, working conditions, sharps injury, anaesthetic gases and toxic agents used interoperatively, the authors note.

The fact that female surgeons have their first child later, on average, than the general population may be a contributing factor, write Dr Matilda Anderson of Western Health Surgical Department in Melbourne and Dr Rose Goldman, of Harvard Medical School, Boston. 

However, they add, “the association of occupational reproductive hazards with infertility and pregnancy complications in this population has not been adequately explored or defined.”