It's a fact that surgeons play their favorite music while working in the operating room, as music is a calming and relaxing tool, according to a previous study.
However, a new study has revealed that music also makes surgeons more efficient at their job. With songs playing in the background, surgeons apparently do better incisions and sutures, the study said.
Researchers did a survey of plastic surgeon residents at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) who were asked to work on pigs feet. The trial was divided into two groups --- one group was placed inside a silent operating room, while the other group got to listen to music while in surgery. But the groups' rooms were switched in the second part of the trial.
The researchers noted that when music was played in the background inside the operating room, surgeons worked eight percent faster. The difference in speed was more obvious with experienced surgeons. Meanwhile, among senior surgeons, surgery was improved at least ten percent faster compared to the other group of senior surgeons in the silent room.
In surgery, speed matters as much as precision, "Spending less time in the operating room can translate into significant cost reductions, particularly when incision closure is a large portion of the procedure, such as in a tummy tuck," the chief of plastic surgery residents, Dr. Shelby Lies, said in a press release.
"Longer duration under general anesthesia is also linked with increased risk of adverse events for the patient," Lies added.
In another part of the study, other surgeons were asked to evaluate the work of their colleagues, without first being told of the conditions of the trial. Based on their ratings, the researchers concluded that overall quality of the surgeries improved when the surgeons listened to their preferred music while working, as evidenced by the outcomes.
"Our study confirmed that listening to the surgeon's preferred music improves efficiency and quality of wound closure, which may translate to health care cost savings and better patient outcomes," said Andrew Zhang, a professor of surgery in UTMB and also one of the study authors in the press release.
The findings were published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal.
