Physician attachment to stapedectomy: A comparison of survey responses

Objective: To demonstrate that surgeons who perform stapedectomies derive intrinsic enjoyment from the procedure. Subjects: An experimental group of 174 otologists/neurotologists who possibly perform stapedectomy, one control group of 145 head/neck oncologists who possibly perform parotidectomy, and a second control group of 365 pediatric otolaryngologists who possibly perform tonsillectomy. Intervention: Observational study using four-question anonymous surveys distributed by electronic mail. Outcome Measures: Responses to surveys by participants during a four-week period. Results: During the four-week survey periods, 84/174 neurotologists (48%) responded, while 33/145 oncologists (23%), and 87/365 pediatric otolaryngologists (24%) responded. Seventy-six of the 80 neurotologists who still performed stapedectomies (95%) enjoyed performing it, slightly more than the 30 of the 33 oncologists who still performed parotidectomies (91%), and appreciably more than the 67/87 pediatric otolaryngologists who still performed tonsillectomies (77%). Twenty-three neurotologists (30%) would sacrifice vacation time to perform additional stapedectomies, slightly more than 8 oncologists (27%) for additional parotidectomies, and more than the 7 pediatric otolaryngologists (10%) for additional tonsillectomies. Ten (13%) of the neurotologists, three (9%) of the oncologists, and one (2%) of the pediatric otolaryngologists would sacrifice five or more vacation days to perform more of the procedures. Conclusions: Our survey suggests that stapedectomy is intrinsically enjoyable.