Left handed surgeons lack access to left handed instruments while training, receive little mentoring about their left handedness, and are more prone to needle stick injuries than their right handed colleagues. They also have considerable difficulty handling some instruments.

One in 10 left handed surgeons was also uncomfortable with the idea of being operated on by a left handed surgeon, says a report in Current Surgery (2004:61:587-91). Six per cent also reported concerns by patients about their laterality.

The perils and pitfalls of being left handed emerge from a survey of surgeons in New York city, Manhattan, and …