title: Do women prefer a female breast surgeon?
abstract: Patient preferences regarding the gender of their physicians is a highly sensitive issue, which can be particularly salient in intimate medical situations. Previously published studies found that women tend to prefer female physicians, especially in the case of obstetricians and gynecologists. Data regarding other intimate specialties, such as breast surgery, are scarce. The present study was undertaken to assess gender preferences of women regarding their choice of a breast surgeon.
  
  
  
  Five hundred and fifteen consecutive women who attended breast clinics in two university-affiliated tertiary hospitals were prospectively enrolled. A 25-item anonymous questionnaire was completed by women independently and used to assess their preferences in selecting their breast surgeon. Of the 515 women, 500 (97 % response rate; mean age 50.6 ± 15.4 years) completed the anonymous questionnaire.
  
  
  
  Overall, 160 (32 %) women preferred to undergo breast examination by a female breast surgeon, 296 (59 %) had no preference, and only 44 (9 %) preferred a male surgeon. A same-gender preference was significantly and independently associated with younger age of the patients (Odds Ratio = 0.978, 95 % Confidence Interval 0.962-0.994,P= 0.007) and being married (Odds Ratio = 0.563, 95 % Confidence Interval 0.347-0.916,P= 0.021). However, only small and equal numbers of patients preferred to undergo breast surgery by a female (14 %) or a male (13 %) surgeon, and most patients (73 %) had no gender preferences. Furthermore, the three most important factors, which affected in general the actual selection, were surgical ability (93 %), experience (91.2 %) and knowledge (78.6 %), rather than physician gender per se.
  
  
  
  Overall, about a third of women prefer a female breast surgeon for their breast examination. Embarrassment during the examination was the major reason for same-gender preference. In contrast, when it comes to breast operations, preference for a female surgeon is less pronounced, with the professional skills of the surgeons becoming the predominant consideration. The fact that almost a third of the potential patients prefer female surgeons with regard to their breast examinations emphasizes the need to increase the number of female surgeons. Such an increase can be achieved through academic and economic changes that will enable more women to specialize in general surgery.
  
  
  
  Trial registration is not required for this type of research.
authors.affiliation: Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel ; Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, 6 Weizmann Street, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Asnat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Groutz
authors.affiliation: Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Hadar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Amir
authors.affiliation: The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Revital
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caspi
authors.affiliation: Rabin Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Petah Tikva, Israel.
authors.forename: Eran
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sharon
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, CA USA.
authors.forename: Yifat Amir
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: E. Wolfson Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Holon, Israel.
authors.forename: Mordechai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimonov
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001940:Breast / Q000601:surgery*; D002755:Choice Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010822:Physicians, Women / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: Breast surgery; Female breast surgeon; Gender preference; Physician-patient relations; Sex preference