Please read Dr. Howard’s article in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology titled, “Operative Mortality for Male Versus Female Surgeons: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.”
In surgical subspecialties, women are least represented in orthopedic surgery (15.4% female), neurological surgery (17.5% female), and thoracic surgery (21.8% female). Within general surgery, women make up less than a quarter of the field (22% according to the 2021 physician specialty data report). There is evidence that these disparities affect patient outcomes. A 2022 study found that sex discordance between surgeons and their patients was associated with a higher chance of adverse postoperative outcomes, complications, and death. Worse outcomes occurred among female patients treated by male surgeons, but not for male patients treated by female surgeons. However, this disparity is not consistent across populations or procedure type and requires further investigation. The paucity of female representation within surgery has the potential to create, at best, an absence of knowledge regarding female surgeon outcomes, and, at worst, a patient and surgeon sex bias with a possible preference toward male surgeons. To read the full article.
Operative Mortality for Male Versus Female Surgeons: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Carter EJR, Linz MS, George LC, Dar A, Qie V, Alvarez-Downing MM, Howard D.J Surg Res. 2025 Mar 22;308:270-278. PMID: 40121755 DOI: 1016/j.jss.2025.02.007