Kaiser Permanente Head and Neck Cancer Surgery Success Rates Equal to Top U.S. Academic Medical Centers; HMO Patients Also Recuperated From Surgery More Quickly.

PASADENA, Calif. -- A Kaiser Permanente study has shown that the surgical success rates of cancer patients who underwent reconstructive micro-vascular head and neck surgery at the Kaiser Permanente Regional Head, Neck, & Skullbase Surgical Oncology Center compared favorably with success rates at highly respected and renowned cancer centers around the country. It also showed that Kaiser Permanente patients spent less time in the hospital and recuperated more quickly.

This was the first study to compare a health maintenance organization with academic health centers providing tertiary surgical care and was performed using data from five flagship medical centers, all ranked among the 18 best head and neck programs in the United States.

The study was published in the June 21, 2004 edition of the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, a publication of JAMA & Archives Journals.

"Our goal was to compare our results with the very best available," said Edgar A. Lueg, MD, of the Kaiser Permanente Micro-vascular Reconstructive Head & Neck Surgery Service. "The care provided by these academic medical centers around the county is world renowned. Therefore, we are very proud of our ability to provide the same if not better level of surgical care for our members with large head and neck cancers, while also getting them home to their families sooner."

Patients chosen for the study had undergone free flap surgery. This procedure involves the transplantation of tissue from the arms or legs to repair a defect remaining after the removal of cancerous tissue from the mouth or throat.

The five flagship centers evaluated for the study are the MD Anderson Cancer Center; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Mount Sinai Medical Center; UCLA Medical Center; and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. MD Anderson and Sloan-Kettering are also the two highest ranked comprehensive cancer centers in the country. Flagship centers were defined as those that reported at least 100 consecutive cases and average at least 26 cases per year.

The patients included in the study were evaluated by Kaiser Permanente head and neck surgeons and radiation oncologists and received extensive preoperative medical and psychological preparation.

Approximately one in every four insured Southern Californians are members of Kaiser Permanente, a non-profit group model where members choose their physicians from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group.

Kaiser Permanente established a dedicated micro-vascular reconstructive head and neck surgery service serving its members in Southern California in 1998.

Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a not-for-profit, group practice prepayment program headquartered in Oakland, CA. The Kaiser Permanente Southern California Region has more than 3.1 million members. They are cared for by the 3,600 physicians of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group (SCPMG) and 47,300 Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals and medical group employees. The Kaiser Permanente Southern California Region is served by 11 major medical centers.

www.kaiserpermanente.org