title: Prevalence of previous surgery in a sample of hospital patients.
abstract: Concern is often expressed about the extent of unnecessary surgery performed. The surgical histories of 150 hospital patients, 84% of whom had undergone previous surgery (2.4 procedures each) were investigated. The need for improved surgical statistical data and quality control is emphasized.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013019:South Africa; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative