Don’t Have A Surgery On Friday

A new study learned something unexpected about the timing of when people have surgery. As it turns out, if you have surgery just before the weekend, you might have more problems afterward than if you had it done after the weekend. The researchers looked at information from 429,691 patients who had surgery in the province of Ontario, Canada, between 2007 and 2019. They checked how the patients were doing 30 days, 90 days, and even one whole year after their surgeries. Here’s what they discovered: Patients who were operated on just before the weekend were more likely to die – 9% more after 30 days, 10% more after 90 days, and 12% more after a year. They also had a 5% higher chance of something going wrong, like getting sick again or going back to the hospital, both after 30 days and a year.

The study also found that younger and less experienced surgeons were more likely to carry out the surgeries on Fridays or before weekends. These surgeons were around 47 years old and had practiced for around 14 years, while those who conducted the surgeries on weekdays were a little older, at around 48 years, and had practiced for around 17 years. So why is this the case? Hospitals usually also have fewer staff members present on weekends, which can make it harder to deliver great care to patients after surgery. There are also fewer specialty machines and assistants available on weekends, so if something goes wrong, it might take longer to fix it. In addition, when the weekend comes along, different doctors and nurses take over, and they might not know the patient as well, so it might be even harder to notice problems. What this research indicates is that when you undergo an operation may make a huge difference, and hospitals must take this into account when they plan operations in order to keep patients safest.