Does greater surgical skill reduce postoperative complications, reoperations, and readmissions after bariatric surgery?
Peer rating of operative skill may be an effective strategy for assessing a surgeon's proficiency and predicting postoperative outcomes.
The technical skill of practicing bariatric surgeons varied widely, and greater skill was associated with fewer postoperative complications and lower rates of reoperation, readmission, and visits to the emergency department. Although these findings are preliminary, they suggest that peer rating of operative skill may be an effective strategy for assessing a surgeon's proficiency.
Birkmeyer et al. (2013) studied this question.