LAUSR

BACKGROUND This study was designed to investigate incidences of surgeons' mental distress following severe complications after radical gastrectomy. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted between June 01, 2021 and September 30, 2021 among Chinese general and/or gastrointestinal surgeons who experienced severe complications after radical gastrectomy. The clinical features collected in the questionnaire included: i) feeling burnout, anxiety, or depression; ii) avoiding radical gastrectomy or feeling stress, slowing down the process during radical gastrectomy operations; iii) having physical reactions, including heart pounding, trouble breathing, or sweating while recalling; iv) having urges to quit being a surgeon; v) taking psychiatric medications; and vi) seeking psychological counseling. Analyses were performed to identify risk factors of severe mental distress, which was defined as meeting three or more of the above-mentioned clinical features. RESULTS A total of 1062 valid questionnaires were received. The survey showed that most of the participating surgeons (69.02%) had at least one clinical feature of mental distress following severe complications after radical gastrectomy, and more than 25% of the surgeons suffered from severe mental distress. Surgeons from non-university affiliated hospitals, the junior surgeons, and existing violent doctor-patient conflicts were recognized as independent risk factors for surgeons' severe mental distress related to the severe complications after radical gastrectomy. CONCLUSIONS About 70% of surgeons had mental health problems following severe complications after radical gastrectomy, and more than 25% of the surgeons suffered from severe mental distress. More strategies and policies are needed to improve the mental well-being of these surgeons after such incidences.