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In-Office Surgery More Dangerous

The September, 2003 issue of the Journal Archives of Surgery finds that patients who choose to have surgery at their doctor’s office are 12 times more likely to die than if they had chosen an ambulatory (outpatient) surgical center.

Patients who had surgery in their doctor’s office died 12 times more often and also were 12 times more likely to suffer injuries than patients who had their surgery at a licensed outpatient center.

According to lead researcher Dr. Hector Vila, Jr., chief of anesthesia at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, the difference lies in the fact that the outpatient centers have to be licensed by the state to perform surgery, the doctor’s offices don’t.

Vila’s team pointed out three factors that lead to these disturbing numbers. The first is doctor accreditation. Many doctors who perform surgeries in their offices are not board certified to do so. Outpatient centers require doctors to be board certified in any procedures that they perform.

The second problem is that doctor’s offices don’t need hospital accreditation like the outpatient centers. In the study, only 38% of the facilities where patient deaths occurred were accredited. 100% of outpatient centers are accredited.

The third problem is the people who administer anesthesia in doctor’s offices. In some cases, anesthesia was handled by an office assistant. Only 15% of the offices where deaths occurred used anesthesiologists.

1.2 million patients per year choose to have surgeries in their doctor’s office.

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