Declining surgical case-load of the obstetrician-gynecologist.
The National Hospital Discharge Survey indicates that rates of obstetric and gynecologic operations in the United States plateaued from 1979 to 1984, despite an increase in the number of obstetricians-gynecologists. Thus, the average surgical case-load of the obstetrician-gynecologist has declined. During this interval, rates of diagnostic dilation and curettage fell by nearly one-third, while rates of cesarean delivery and infertility operations continued to increase. As surgical case-loads decrease, obstetricians-gynecologists are likely to direct greater attention toward primary prevention, including prevention of cervical neoplasia, tubal infertility, unplanned pregnancy, and osteoporosis. In the years ahead, social gynecology may emerge as a discipline of equal stature as surgical gynecology in the United States.
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Grimes
D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000639:trends*; D006176:Gynecology / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000601:surgery; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000639:trends*; D011247:Pregnancy; D014481:United States