Can a "novice" do aneurysm surgery? Surgical outcomes in a low-volume, non-subspecialised neurosurgical unit

Tony Goldschlager, Senthil Selvanathan, David Walker

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10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to review the results of a junior general neurosurgeon performing aneurysm surgery and compare these to the remainder of his low-volume unit. Prospectively collected data was analysed for 114 aneurysms clipped in 99 patients between July 2001 and May 2005. Overall there was a 0.9 mortality rate and 10.8 complication rate. The favourable outcome rate for the unit was 100 for unruptured aneurysms, 90.4 for grades 1-3 patients and 30 for poor grade patients (grades 4 and 5). The novice neurosurgeon had no mortality and a favourable outcome rate of 94.7 for grades 1-3 patients and 50 for poor grade patients. Acceptable results can be obtained with cerebral aneurysm surgery in a low-volume centre by Australian-trained, non-subspecialty neurosurgeons.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1055 - 1061
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Clinical Neuroscience
Volume14
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2007
Externally publishedYes

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