Subspecialization within pediatric surgical groups in North America

The purpose of this study was to assess the current status of subspecialization in North American pediatric surgical practices and to evaluate factors associated with subspecialization.

A survey was sent to each pediatric surgical practice in the United States and Canada. For each of 44 operation types, ranging in complexity and volume, the respondents chose one of the following responses: 1. everyone does the operation; 2. group policy--only some surgeons do the operation; 3. group policy--anyone can do it but mentorship required; 4. only some do it due to referral patterns; 5. no one in the group does it. Association of various factors with degree of subspecialization was analyzed using nonparametric statistics with p<0.05 considered significant.

Response rate was 70%. There was significant variability in subspecialization among groups. Factors found to be significantly associated with increased subspecialization included free-standing children's hospitals, pediatric surgery training programs, higher number of surgeons, higher case volume, and greater volume of tertiary/quaternary cases.

There is wide variation in the degree of subspecialization among North American pediatric surgery practices. These data will help to inform ongoing debate around strategies that may be useful in optimizing pediatric surgical care and patient outcomes in the future.