Factors Influencing Complication Rates in the Orthopaedic Theatre

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The prevalence of complications in surgical units is available in the literature. The aim of this study was to compare the "rotational" (more than one surgeon) and "full-time single surgeon" use of the orthopedic theater. MATERIAL AND METHODS We retrospectively evaluated patients who underwent orthopedic surgery in 2016 in different theaters. A total of 604 of 1973 patients were excluded from the study, and 1369 patients were analyzed. The follow-up period was 1 year. While evaluating the cases, the duration and order of each case, the total operation time on the table, the number of surgeons, the total number of cases, the number of residents, and the experiences of the surgeons were investigated, and the effects of these parameters on the complication rates were analyzed. The Dindo-Clavien system was used to classify the complications. RESULTS When comparing the methods, the complication rate of the full-time single-surgeon method (12.9%) was less than that of the rotational method (21.7%) (p: 0.022). A higher rate of complications (8.5%) was observed in operations with a duration of 115 minutes or more compared to other operations (p <0.001). A higher complication rate (23.7%) was observed in cases lasting more than 345 minutes (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS According to our study, full-time use of the orthopedic theater by a single surgeon was found to be safer than rotational use. In addition, the duration of surgeries lasting longer than 115 minutes or longer than 345 minutes during the day increased the rate of surgical complications. Key words: patient safety, surgical planning, operation time, operation order, orthopedic complication.