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. 2022 Feb 18;10(2):e4142.
doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000004142. eCollection 2022 Feb.

Operation-related Musculoskeletal Injuries among United States Surgeons: A Gender-stratified National Survey

Maria Tran  1 , Michael W Kortz  1 , Britt Johnson  1 , Jeffrey E Janis  2
Affiliations

Operation-related Musculoskeletal Injuries among United States Surgeons: A Gender-stratified National Survey

Maria Tran et al. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. .

Abstract

Operation-related musculoskeletal injury (ORMI) among surgeons is a well-described phenomenon. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence of self-reported ORMI among surgeons of various subspecialties and preliminarily investigate the role of gender.

Methods: An anonymous survey, querying information pertinent to ORMIs, was distributed online through the American College of Surgeons community membership forum. Nonparametric univariate analysis and a multivariate regression model were conducted. A P value of 0.05 determined significance.

Results: A total of 624 male and female surgeons responded to the survey, with 50.8% reporting having an injury related to operating. Among the entire cohort, the prevalence of ORMI was significantly higher among female surgeons than male surgeons (P = 0.01), although there was no significant difference among the genders in ORMI prevalence when stratifying by age group (all P > 0.05).

Conclusion: Female surgeons are more likely to report an ORMI, although the impact of confounding variables such as age, operative case volume, and surgical subspecialty remain to be fully elucidated.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Prevalence of ORMI in five different age groups. The blue bar represents female surgeons, the orange bar represents male surgeons, and the gray bar represents the total number of surgeons in the age group. The 50–69 age group is an inflection point in total prevalence of ORMI. No significant differences in ORMI between men and women were seen by age group with P value of less than 0.05.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
The timeline of male vs female surgeons experiencing pain during or after operating. Men were found to significantly experience more pain and injury after surgery in comparison with women in chi-square analysis.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Prevalence of operation-related musculoskeletal injury among female and male surgeons that participated in this survey based upon specialty. Female surgeons are represented by the orange bar, and male surgeons are represented by the blue bar.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Areas of discomfort. Neck and lower back were most frequently the area of discomfort among male surgeons. Neck and shoulders were most frequently the area of discomfort among female surgeons.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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