The study, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Surgery, found that patients were at higher risk of complications if their surgeons were more often reported by colleagues for "unprofessional behavior" in the three years leading up to the surgery.
In the study, 14.1% of patients whose surgeons had been reported by co-workers at least four times experienced medical or surgical complications, including subsequent infections, lung and kidney problems. The same was true for 10.7% of patients whose surgeons had zero reports.