The changing pattern of thoracic surgery in the United Kingdom 1963-1982.
During the period 1963-1982 a total of 11,459 patients with general surgical and thoracic conditions were admitted to the Churchill and John Radcliffe Hospitals in Oxford under the care of a single thoracic surgeon. 55.1% of the admissions were for general surgical conditions whereas 44.9% were for a thoracic disorder. The total period has been studied by dividing it into three subgroups of 7, 6 and 7 years (1963-1969, 1970-1975, 1976-1982). The percentage of thoracic patients treated during the three periods was found to be 48.86%, 41.73% and 50.11% respectively. The three periods studied have been subdivided into major disease groups and the changes in these groups have been studied in detail. During this 20-year period there has been a dramatic change in the makeup of a typical thoracic surgical practice. This is in part due to the changing pattern and prevalence of many of the diseases treated by thoracic surgeons, but is also due to a change in referral patterns, the distribution of patients between thoracic and general surgeons and also the dichotomy emerging between thoracic and cardiac surgeons.
Paraskevopoulos
J A
JA
Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield.
Gunning
A J
AJ
Dennison
A R
AR
D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D015996:Survival Rate; D013903:Thoracic Surgery / Q000145:classification / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States