Got surgery? Plan it for the weekday, not weekend.
New research shows that British patients who have their operations on the weekend instead of Monday have a much greater chance of dying — an 82 percent chance, the Daily Mail reported.
The findings deal with elective surgery, rather than emergency operations.
Researchers with Imperial College in London analyzed 4 million operations at England’s government-run hospitals, from 2008 to 2011. The types of elective surgeries included heart bypass, joint replacements — to include hips and knees — gastric operations and hysterectomies. The findings: 27,500 died within 30 days of their operations, the Daily Mail found.
But those who had the surgeries on Mondays had the greatest survival rate, the Daily Mail reported.
Tuesday was another good day for operations — but Wednesday saw the risk rise by 15 percent. On Thursday, the risk rose another 21 percent, and by Friday, that chance for dying hit at 44 percent. The numbers are in the context of comparison with Monday operations, the Daily Mail said.
By the weekend, when 1 of 20 operations was performed, the potential for dying hit 82 percent, the Daily Mail said.
Part of the reason is that medical consultants are generally off duty on the weekends, the Daily Mail said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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