Background: Surgeon-level operative mortality is widely seen as a measure of quality after gastric and oesophageal resection. This study aimed to evaluate this alongside a compound-level outcome analysis.Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent treatment including surgery delivered by a multidisciplinary team, which included seven specialist surgeons, were studied. The primary outcome was death within 30 days of surgery; secondary outcomes were anastomotic leak, Clavien-Dindo morbidity score, lymph node harvest, circumferential resection margin (CRM) status, disease-free (DFS), and overall (OS) survival.Results: The median number of annual resections per surgeon was 10 (range 5-25), compared with 14 (5-25) for joint consultant teams (P = 0⋅855). The median annual surgeon-level mortality rate was 0 (0-9) per cent versus an overall network annual operative mortality rate of 1⋅8 (0-3⋅7) per cent. Joint consultant team procedures were associated with fewer operative deaths (0⋅5 per cent versus 3⋅4 per cent at surgeon level; P = 0⋅027). The median surgeon anastomotic leak rate was 12⋅4 (range 9-20) per cent (P = 0⋅625 versus the whole surgical range), overall morbidity 46⋅5 (31-60) per cent (P = 0⋅066), lymph node harvest 16 (9-29) (P < 0⋅001), CRM positivity 32⋅0 (16-46) per cent (P = 0⋅003), 5-year DFS rate 44⋅8 (29-60) per cent and OS rate 46⋅5 (35-53) per cent. No designated metrics were independently associated with DFS or OS in multivariable analysis.
Conclusion:Annual surgeon-level metrics demonstrated wide variations (fivefold), but these performance metrics were not associated with survival.