[Skip to Navigation]
Sign In
Comment & Response
December 29, 2021

Comments on Study About US Female Surgeons

Author Affiliations
  • 1Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 2Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
JAMA Surg. 2022;157(4):357-358. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2021.6446

To the Editor We read with interest the study by Rangel et al1 on pregnancy and fertility complications in US female surgeons and commend the authors on this important work. We note that 18 surgical specialties and subspecialties were included in this study and that obstetrics and gynecology and its subspecialties were not included.

Obstetrics and gynecology is recognized as one of the surgical specialties by the American College of Surgeons.2 Cesarean deliveries are the most common major surgical procedure performed in the US, with more than 1 million procedures per year.3 However, this accounts for only a portion of the wide range of procedures performed in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, which encompasses urogynecology for pelvic floor reconstruction, gynecologic oncology for cancers of the female reproductive tract, and minimally invasive gynecologic surgery for the treatment of endometriosis and fibroids.

Add or change institution
×