The best surgeons prioritize patient safety and outcomes above all else. For patients, it’s not about how many procedures a surgeon has performed but the quality of the work. In a facility that offers specialty surgery, volume is much lower overall than in a general hospital.

Likewise, patients stand to benefit from experts who have performed a high volume of surgeries in their specialties. Seeking care from a hospital like North Carolina Specialty Hospital means benefitting from surgeons who focus on quality and specificity rather than a high volume of general procedures.

How Volume Affects the Quality of Surgery

Surgery volume and patient outcomes have been thoroughly studied and reported in medical journals. Studies consistently show that patient mortality is lower in high-volume surgery centers, but this correlation is only evident when the surgeon in question performs procedures within their specialty. General surgeons who perform a large number of varied surgical procedures do not see a payoff in their patient mortality figures.

The physicians at specialty centers like NCSH are expert surgeons specializing in one area of medicine. General hospitals offer volume, but they can’t always give surgeons the time and freedom to focus on their chosen specialty. The focus in general hospitals is often on the number of surgeries performed, not on their quality.

Another consideration is the ability of a hospital to rescue a patient facing major complications. In a paper titled Hospital Volume and Failure to Rescue with High-Risk Surgery, researchers found that higher mortality rates in smaller hospitals were not due to their patients experiencing more complications. Instead, the problem was that these smaller facilities were less effective in rescuing patients with complications.

This inability to rescue patients is primarily a concern with higher-risk procedures Still, it is an important consideration for specialty hospitals, and the staff at NCSH takes it very seriously.

Quantity of Surgeries vs. Quality at NCSH

At NCSH and other specialty hospitals, the focus is on quality, not on pushing as many patients through the door as possible. In a physician-run facility like NCSH, surgeons have much more control over the patients they see and how many surgeries they perform. Specialty surgery quantity varies depending on the facility, physicians, and patient needs.

The overall volume might be lower than in large general hospitals, but specialty hospitals allow surgeons to practice in their chosen field. They develop invaluable expertise gained from years of performing the same types of procedures.

Studies indicate that when experts are concentrated in one specialty hospital or department within a larger hospital, patients benefit. One study looked specifically at orthopedic procedures and found that general hospitals just couldn’t compare to specialty surgery centers in terms of low infection rates and mortality.

Experienced Surgeons, Quality Surgery

When surgeons have the freedom to focus on their area of specialty, patients benefit. Experienced surgeons improve the quality of surgery. This is something that can best be achieved in a specialty hospital like NCSH.

NCSH currently offers surgeons and patients several surgical specialties:

• Back and Spine
• Ear, Nose, and Throat
• Foot and Ankle
• Gynecology
• Hand, Wrist, and Elbow
• Joint Replacement
• Ophthalmology
• Oral and Maxillofacial
• Orthopedics
• Plastic Surgery
• Podiatry
• Sports Medicine
• Urology

NCSH allows surgeons to focus on their specialty, which benefits patients. Whether you need to see a sports medicine expert, an orthopedic surgeon, a plastic surgeon, or any other type of surgeon, you’ll get the best care here.

NCSH has excellent patient outcomes because we are a team of experienced, specialty surgeons. Contact us to learn more and to request an appointment at one of the best specialty hospitals in the state.