Cancellation of elective orthopaedic procedures is not a benign practice and is often preventable

To quantify the reasons for cancelled elective orthopaedic operations, in particular hip and knee arthroplasty. Secondary aims included defining how long these patients had to wait until their operation, and investigating the impact delayed surgery has on patients in terms of re-presentation to healthcare services.

We reviewed hospital records for all cancelled elective orthopaedic operations over a two-year period at a secondary hospital in New Zealand, investigated the reasons for these cancellations, wait times and comorbidities and compared total hip and knee arthroplasty to other elective orthopaedic operations.

76 orthopaedic elective cases were cancelled. 28 (37%) were hip and knee arthroplasties. 71% of these arthroplasties were cancelled due to hospital-related factors (bed availability, operating theatre capacity). Mean wait time for an eventual operation was 56.20 days. Hip joint arthroplasties waited significantly longer (76.10 days, p=0.008). 10% of patients awaiting hip and knee arthroplasties re-presented to healthcare services before their eventual operation.

Patients are having their elective hip and knee arthroplasty operations cancelled for hospital-related reasons that could be avoidable. There are significant wait times contributing to decreased quality of life and may be contributing to avoidable re-presentation with its associated demand on healthcare services.