Patients have better outcomes with female surgeons, studies find

The Canadian study found patients treated by male surgeons were 25% more likely to die one year after surgery than those treated by female surgeons. Photograph: Chee Gin Tan/Getty Images

People who are operated on by female surgeons are less likely to experience complications and need follow-up care than when males wield the scalpel, according to two major studies that suggest male surgeons have important lessons to learn.

Doctors in Canada and Sweden reviewed more than 1m patient records from two separate medical registers and found that patients seen by female surgeons had significantly better outcomes with fewer problems in the months after the operation.