It’s a question most people would never think to ask, but it could mean the difference between life and death.
When is your surgeon’s birthday?
Researchers at UCLA say older patients who undergo emergency surgery on their surgeon’s birthday are more likely to die within a month than others who have the same or similar procedures on different days.
Among surgery patients over age 65, mortality rates are 23 percent higher among those treated on their surgeon’s birthday.
The researchers have yet to come up with a specific reason why this may be the case, but they speculate these highly skilled doctors may be distracted during surgery due to turning one year older. As of now, however, that’s just a theory.
“Our study is the first to show the association between a surgeon’s birthday and patient mortality, but further research is needed before we make a conclusion that birthdays indeed have a meaningful impact on surgeons’ performance,” says senior study author Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa, an assistant professor of medicine, in a university release. “At this point, given that evidence is still limited, I don’t think patients need to avoid a surgical procedure on the surgeon’s birthday.”
It seems like a fairly large sample size was used as part of the study.
Researchers examined postoperative 30-day mortality rates among Medicare beneficiaries between 65 and 99 years old during the study. Each patient underwent one of 17 different surgical procedures between 2011 and 2014. In all, study authors looked at close to 981,000 surgeries performed by 48,000 different surgeons. A grand total of 2,064 (0.2%) of those surgeries took place on the surgeon’s birthday.
Patients who underwent a procedure on their surgeon’s birthday had a 6.9 percent mortality rate. In comparison, everyone else’s mortality rate was 5.6 percent. Researchers say that constitutes a 23-percent greater mortality risk during birthday surgeries.
The researchers say more study on this connection is needed. They add since the review focuses on older adults, the same may not hold true for younger individuals.
In other words, there are a lot of unanswered questions here.
But one question you can get an answer to – what is your surgeon’s birthday. Perhaps doctors should be required to use their birthday as a vacation day…
If you would like to read some more details about this study, here is the link. It was published in the BMJ, which appears to be a prestigious medical journal.
How weird! And, I suppose, a bit alarming. It’s another reminder that we all need time to rest and reflect on ourselves. What better time than on our birthdays?
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I’m not sure I’d want to be operated on the day after the doctor’s birthday either… 🙂
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Haha. So true, depending on how they celebrated! 😂
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you know those doctors… 🙂
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I never considered this before. While I like my doctor and dentist, I don’t know many personal details about them. I would think that would be true of most people. Fortunately, I haven’t had many surgeries, which explains my lack of knowledge about him/her. I’ve been going to the same dentist for over twenty-five years, and she always makes a point to ask specific questions (not general ones) about my family. I have to think that’s something a PR person taught, but it does create an extra level of trust.
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it sounds like we’ve got the same dentist. she is always good at remembering things I have told her in previous visits about my family and other personal items. it would be nice to know a little bit more about the health care professionals who take care of us…
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It could be from frustration on having to work on their birthday… I mean, I wouldn’t want to work on my birthday, too…
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since I usually teach Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, there is about a 50-50 chance I’ll be teaching on my birthday. I think I prefer it when my birthday falls on one of the other days…
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I think you are right. The docs should take a vacation day because they are mad that they don’t have the day off. 😊
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maybe a couple of vacation days so they come back fully refreshed…
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Even though it’s a large sample group, what other factors were looked at? And if it’s only Medicare would the same resh lts come from a study from another medical group. Personally I find these studies a waste of resources. Statistics is easy to use as a means to get a result.
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* results
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yes, you can use statistics to help create the message you are trying to sell…
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I never would have thought to ask this kind of question to the doctor prior to surgery. I’ll have to keep that in mind next time. I wonder if I get more complacent at work on my birthday too.
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it’s an interesting question. I’m sure the surgeon would claim he or she is just as competent whether it’s his or her birthday…
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i’d say we propose a day off on, and just after a surgeon’s birthday. a gift to them, as well as their patients
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I agree, I think the day after may be even more critical…
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My last “emergency” they had to call the surgeon in from home as it was late in the evening. I didn’t think about his birthday, but I did wonder what I was taking him away from at home and how happy that may make him. Was it “meatloaf” night, his favorite TV program on that evening, maybe “date night” with the wife? But as I survived, I am just going to assume it was not his birthday.
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Maybe the doc was watching ER as a way to stay up with the latest developments in his field. And I am glad you survived… 🙂
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Whatever his plans, I am sure they did not include me, but he was a life saver. As were all the others involved in my care. An underappreciated lot until you need them. Thanks Jim!
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I agree. Health care personnel deserve all the love they have been shown this past year…
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I’d have thought that rates would be higher for the day after the surgeon’s birthday, when the after-effects of the celebrations were being felt.
And the BMJ is indeed a very well-respected publication here, so what they say must be right. Mustn’t it?
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I was thinking the same thing; I wonder if they looked at the day after at all.
And speaking of BMJ, it looks like they put out a Christmas issue every year that is a bit more on the light-hearted side of things. I believe this study is one such story,
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I remember one of the medics I worked with showing me that issue once. Perhaps they should have saved this story for 1 April?
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one of my favorite days of the year!
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I think it’s hubris. Everyone is wishing the doctors a happy birthday. So their egos swell up, and they get the sense that they cannot make a mistake. And then . . . whoops!
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a fine line between confidence and hubris, to be sure…
I wonder if Carolyn felt like that on her recent birthday…
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I’m sure she did. We were all wishing her a happy birthday.
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How could I not feel prideful, I mean how many people get a Birthday countdown calendar!
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I know, see what I mean. Certainly the person who did that should be rewarded, and should never fall into a deep hole.
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What if your reward was falling into a deep hole?
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Sigh, I dunno. Could you throw me down some food?
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Maybe Jim can stand up in his hole and toss you some! 🙂
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Your just full of ideas, aren’t you?
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Yup! Hey you could be the Monkey in the Middle and Jim could toss the food but it would go over your head to Jason’s hole! 😂
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Monkey in the Middle? What are they tossing, bananas?
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Could be!
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I may end up eating all of them…
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the world’s most perfect food…
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It’s very appeeling.
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but if the holes fill up with banana peels, it could lead to a slippery slope…
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And then I’d never get out.
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me either…
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I could only toss food about one foot right now…
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Well I didn’t say that the holes were far apart!
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🙂
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I have two broken wrists, you wouldn’t throw me down a hole…
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I’d hate to see what your punishments are like…
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LOL!!
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truth…
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exactly!
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Ummm……I did mention the gifts I got on my birthday, right? Not exactly ego building gifts! LOL!
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you got your special coffee drink, what more did you want?
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LOL! Yes, exactly!
A Beachhouse, perhaps?
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I wish I had known about the beachhouse 🙂
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Haha!! Yeah, like you didn’t know! I guess I should have asked for it 102x instead of just 101! 😛
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that little bit of extra effort could have made the difference…
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I accept late birthday gifts!
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🎁 enjoy
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“Funnny!” You are too kind!
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Interesting! I am proposing they use that day for research and administrative work instead of handson surgery. Although they may be a bit frustrated the day after, which will require a whole new research about the day after your doctor’s birthday 🙂
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good idea, but you’re right. there may be a lot of factors that go into how a doctor performs on a given day…
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As with many studies, we probably need more research and data. If I need surgery, I will probably have other matters weighing on my mind other than the doctor’s birthday.
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I agree there are more pressing issues when getting ready for surgery!
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Just a bit too bizarre me thinks. 🙂
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not the usual type of medical research… 🙂
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Not. 🙂
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