Little is known about the incidence of gender-affirming surgical procedures for transgender patients in the United States. In this population-based study of 37 827 gender-affirming surgical encounters, Canner and colleagues analyzed the incidence and time trends of gender-affirming surgical procedures, as well as characteristics and payer status of patients seeking these operations. They found that most patients were self-paying and that, as coverage for these procedures increases, the demand for qualified surgeons likely will increase too.
Invited Commentary
Continuing Medical Education
To date, few studies have examined residents’ experiences of childbearing during surgical training. This national survey of 347 female surgeons who experienced pregnancy during residency found high rates of unmitigated schedules and health concerns late in pregnancy, brief maternity leave, perceived stigma, and lack of residency infrastructure to support lactation and childcare. These challenges may alter the surgical workforce by reducing clinicians’ satisfaction with their residencies and careers.
Invited Commentary
Continuing Medical Education
Bariatric surgery results in durable weight loss and positive changes in obesity-associated morbidities, but few or no studies to date have investigated whether there is an association with changes in relationship status. In this study of 2 large Swedish cohorts, Bruze and colleagues investigated changes in interpersonal relationship status. They found that bariatric surgery was associated with increased incidence of divorce and separation, as well as increased incidence of marriage and new relationship.
Invited Commentary
In this bibliometric analysis of research articles published in 5 surgical journals, male and female authors were found to be equally poor at sex-based reporting, analysis, and discussion. Female authors were more likely than male authors to study female participants but were also more likely to include a greater disparity between the number of male and female participants. Interestingly, articles that were sex-inclusive received more citations of their published work compared with articles that were sex-biased.
Clinical Review & Education
It is essential to evaluate the quality of pediatric field triage in inclusive trauma systems to prevent undertriage and overtriage. Van der Sluijs and colleagues completed a systematic review of 5 articles and 3 different protocols. Current protocols were found to misclassify a considerable number of children, and the quality of the full diagnostic strategy to get the right patient to the right hospital was found to be lacking.
Continuing Medical Education