Doctor's offices doing more surgeries

Out of about 80 million outpatient surgeries last year, including those done at hospitals and free-standing surgical centers, more than 12 million were performed in doctor's offices, a national surgical-safety group estimates.

That figure is expected to continue growing in tandem with the advances in anesthetics and minimally invasive procedures that make office surgery possible.

But while increasing numbers of patients choose the office setting for its convenience, comfort, lower infection risk and possible cost savings, some doctors warn that safeguards for patients have been slow to keep up.