Operative time tracking for umbilical hernia patients

Area of Science:

• General Surgery
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Military medical facilities (MTFs) utilize historical operating room (OR) times for scheduling surgical cases.
• An inflated estimate for umbilical hernia repair (UHR) times at one institution led to underutilized ORs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify variables correlating with extended operative times for umbilical hernia repairs.
• To improve the accuracy of OR scheduling for hernia repair procedures.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 442 UHR cases (umbilical, ventral, epigastric, incisional; open and laparoscopic) from January 2013 to June 2018.
• Analysis of patient demographics, hernia characteristics, and anesthesia staffing to determine factors influencing operative duration.

Main Results:

• Patient ASA level, primary vs. mesh repair, number of hernias, hernia size, and absence of a student registered nurse anesthetist (SRNA) correlated with longer UHR operative times.
• For open hernia repairs, multivariate regression identified patient age and hernia size as significant predictors of operative time.

Conclusions:

• The study's findings informed the creation of new scheduling options for open UHR (with and without mesh).
• These new options aim to enhance the efficient utilization of operating room resources.