Does the surgeon's annual case load make a difference in the quality of peripheral vascular surgery? A report of the mortality, morbidity, and long-term results of 101 procedures performed over 93 months.

The outcome of 101 peripheral vascular procedures performed during 93 months was reviewed to determine the quality of the results. Quality was defined as the following: series mortality rate, frequency and significance of complications, cumulative patency rate for bypass grafts, amputation rate, survival following abdominal aneurysm surgery, and neurologic events associated with carotid procedures. The series mortality rate was 4%; 44 procedures were free of complications; patency rates were not significantly different from published reports; the initial amputation rate was 7.4%; and only one out of ten patients was known to have died following aneurysm surgery. Neither of the two carotid procedures included neurologic complications. These data suggest that factors other than a surgeon's annual case load may influence the quality of the results and point out the need to further study this question in light of current admission criteria for the vascular surgery examination.