Screengrab from Wisconsin State Journal E-edition, 10/20/2026
Academy of Management Today, 9/26/2026
Every year, millions of Americans undergo surgery when they probably don’t need to.
In 2013, a USA Today investigation found that 10% to 20% of surgical procedures in the U.S. may be unnecessary. In one study, second opinions after spine surgeries labeled 17.2% of them as needless. Entire categories of surgeries, such as spinal fusions for back pain and arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for knee pain, continue although evidence is spotty that they are effective for the condition they aim to treat.
The problem is not new. In 1953, the director of the American College of Surgeons told the New York Times the public would be shocked at “the amount of unnecessary surgery” performed in the U.S., and the American Medical Association raised the alarm in the 1970s.
Why would surgeons suggest an unnecessary surgery and encourage patients to take the risks of complications for a procedure they do not need?
One reason is it provides more money for hospitals than do other interventions or treatment methods, said Academy of Management Scholar Christopher Myers of Johns Hopkins University, who studies organizational practices in hospitals.
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