JAMA surgery
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Postoperative complications remain common after surgery, but little is known about the extent of variation in operative technical skill and whether variation is associated with patient outcomes. ⋯ The findings of this study suggest that there is wide variation in technical skill among practicing surgeons, accounting for more than 25% of the variation in patient outcomes. Higher colectomy technical skill scores appear to be associated with lower complication rates for colectomy and for all other procedures performed by a surgeon. Efforts to improve surgeon technical skills may result in better patient outcomes.