If you’re going for surgery anytime soon, feel good about this news.  A new Canadian led study shows surgeries are much safer than five decades ago.  The risk of dying during or shortly after an operation has declined dramatically, and is now about one-tenth of what it was prior to 1970. 

Lead author Doctor Daniel Bainbridge says, “I’m sure it’s better drugs, better training of residents, better operating room environments, cleaner environments, better equipment.  It’s an understanding of safety and culture safety, and avoid drug errors.  It’s all of these things put together.”  Doctor Bainbridge also says the improvement comes as surgeries become more complex and people requiring operations have more health problems. Bainbridge teaches anesthesiology at the University of Western Ontario in London. The study is in this week’s issue of the journal The Lancet.