Association of Surgeon Volume With Outcomes and Cost Savings Following Thyroidectomy

IMPORTANCE: Incidence of thyroidectomies is continuing to increase. Identifying factors associated with favorable outcomes can lead to cost savings. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of surgeon volume with clinical outcomes and costs of thyroidectomy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional analysis performed in October of 2014 of adult (≥ 18 years) inpatients in US community hospitals using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for the years 2003 through 2009. EXPOSURES: Thyroidectomy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Complications, length of stay, and cost following thyroidectomy in relation to surgeon volume. Surgeon volumes were stratified into low (1-3 thyroidectomies per year), intermediate (4-29 thyroidectomies per year), and high (≥ 30 thyroidectomies per year). RESULTS: A total of 77,863 patients were included. Procedures performed by low-volume surgeons were associated with a higher risk of postoperative complications compared with high-volume surgeons (15.8% vs 7.7%; OR, 1.55 [95% CI, 1.19-2.03]; P = .001). Mean (SD) hospital cost was significantly associated with surgeon volume (high volume, $6662.69 [$409.31]; intermediate volume, $6912.41 [$137.20]; low volume, $10,396.21 [$345.17]; P < .001). During the study period, if all operations performed by low-volume surgeons had been selectively referred to intermediate- or high-volume surgeons, savings of 11.2% or 12.2%, respectively, would have been incurred. On the basis of the cost growth rate, greater savings are forecasted for high-volume surgeons. With a conservative assumption of 150,000 thyroidectomies per year in the United States, referral of all patients to intermediate- or high-volume surgeons would produce savings of $2.08 billion or $3.11 billion, respectively, over a span of 14 years. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: A surgeon's expertise (measured by surgical volume of procedures per year) is associated with favorable clinical as well as financial outcomes. Our model estimates that considerable cost savings are attainable if higher-volume surgeons perform thyroid procedures in the United States.