The Impact of Physician Specialization on Clinical and Hospital Outcomes in Patients Undergoing EVAR and TEVAR

Vascular surgeons appear to have a comparative advantage over other specialties for EVAR because not only are their complication and mortality rates comparable but overall LOS and hospital charges are lower. Furthermore, primarily only vascular surgeons are performing the high volume of annual EVARs necessary to ensure optimal patient outcomes. For TEVAR, vascular surgeons have the lowest overall morbidity compared with the other specialties, and lower mortality compared with cardiothoracic surgeons. These findings may impact patient referral patterns and hospital privileges for providers.