Women are 32 percent more likely to die during surgeries performed by male surgeons than those performed by female surgeons, according to a new study.
The study also found that women who were operated on by male surgeons were more likely to experience complications within 30 days and be hospitalized again.
So what is the reason for this?
Leading the study, which was published in the medical journal Jama Surgery, Dr. Christopher Wallis told the BBC that he doesn’t know the answer to this question yet, but that work is ongoing.
The BBC talked to female surgeons to try to understand why this might happen.
perception of pain
The first-of-its-kind study, which addresses the surgeon-patient gender relationship and evaluates the treatment outcomes for the first time, covers 1.3 million patients treated by 2,937 surgeons in Ontario, Canada between 2007 and 2019.
Why the study does not come to a concrete conclusion as to why female patients treated by male surgeons are at risk; however, possible explanations and further research are pointed out.
One possible explanation suggested is that male surgeons have a different perception of pain and underestimate the severity of post-operative symptoms experienced by women.
A urologist at Tufts University School of Medicine, USA, Dr. Oneeka Williams agrees.
Speaking to the BBC, Williams told the BBC: “Male surgeons may downplay women’s complaints, think that women are more anxious and hysterical, and may not take their complaints seriously after surgery. Complaints are downplayed, the suffering is not taken seriously, and the severity of the disease is ignored.”
A vascular surgeon at Northwell Health University in New York, Dr. Jennifer Svahn also agrees with what has been said.
The high risk of death, according to Svahn, is because “male surgeons do not pay enough attention to the complaints and concerns of female patients.”
Different perceptions
St. in Toronto, Canada. Michael’s College Hospital, colorectal surgeon Dr. According to Nancy Baxter, “people generally pay less attention to women’s suffering than men.”
Speaking to the BBC, Baxter said: “How do you decide what kind of treatment to apply when a patient comes to you? When will you take the patient to the operating room? There is a high probability that there are differences between the treatment methods of male and female surgeons.”
Baxter stated that there are studies showing that female cardiologists are able to better manage their patients’ complaints, thus resulting in more positive treatments.
But Baxter also stressed that there are also changes in the way people view male and female surgeons.
“We know that female surgeons are penalized more for negative results during surgery and will be recommended to fewer people afterwards. These negative results are interpreted as incompetence for women and bad luck for men,” Baxter said.
Communication
Dr. Another explanation, according to Williams, is “women’s emotional intelligence is stronger so they can communicate and empathize better.”
Orthopedic surgeon at the University of Kansas, Dr. Kim Templeton emphasized that the relationship between the patient and the doctor is very important and that the patient should feel comfortable and share information that will affect the course of treatment.
Previous studies also point out that female patient-male doctor relationships can be troublesome, but experts think it’s not just doctors.
Research conducted in Ontario suggests that female patients may not want to tell male surgeons about their post-operative pain and other symptoms, giving incomplete information.
Joining this was Dr. “Female patients may be less wary of female surgeons and therefore more strictly adhere to recommended treatment modalities and communicate better,” Svahn said.
#I look like a surgeon
It has long been thought that gender discrimination can cause many women to leave the profession in the medical field.
In 2015, female surgeons were on the agenda with the hashtag ‘#SerrahaBenzyim’ on Twitter, but today there are still situations where many female surgeons are not associated with their profession and are associated with other professions.
Dr. Williams argues that female surgeons need to prove more than necessary, which may be due to the results of the Ontario study.
“Most people don’t believe I’m a surgeon. Some people think I’m a hospital assistant, secretary, dietitian, and sometimes, if I’m lucky, a nurse,” Williams says.
gender imbalance
Dr. According to Wallis, while the Ontario study doesn’t necessarily suggest that female patients will have worse treatment outcomes than male surgeons, it highlights the need to consider the gender imbalance between patient and doctor.
Of the more than 1.3 million cases studied, patients were 57 percent likely to be female, and surgeons were only 11 percent likely to be female, Wallis said.
Fiona Myint, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons in England, agrees that the gender balance needs to be improved in the field of surgery.
“The majority of those who train to be surgeons in the UK are men. Only 30 percent of women train to work in more senior positions, and 14 percent reach the rank of consultant,” Myint explains.