Surgery riskier if doctor operates on their birthday: study
Author says higher patient mortality makes it a 'good option' for surgeons to have birthdays off
Patients who undergo procedures on their surgeon's birthday are more likely to die within a month than those who have surgery on other days of the year, a study suggests.
In the analysis of nearly one million procedures done in the US, slightly more than 2000 were performed on a surgeon's birthday, according to the study in the BMJ.
The adjusted 30-day mortality for patients who had a procedure on the surgeon's birthday was 6.9%, compared to 5.6% when the surgery was on a different day.
Study coauthor Dr Yusuke