Operative length independently affected by surgical team size: Data from 2 Canadian hospitals

Abstract

Background: Knowledge of the composition of a surgical team is the premise for studying efficiency inside the operating room. Methods: To investigate the team composition in general surgery procedures, we retrospectively reviewed procedures performed by an expert general surgeon in 2007-08 at 2 tertiary hospitals. For each patient, demographic characteristics, procedure type, team members and procedure length were extracted from intraoperative nursing records. We assessed procedure complexity using a calculated index. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to assess the association between procedure length and team size after adjusting for procedure complexity and patient condition. Results: For the 587 procedures reviewed, the mean procedure length was 88 (standard deviation [SD] 51) minutes. On average, 8 team members (range 4-14), including surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and other specialists, were involved in each proced - ure. Only 47 (8%) procedures were performed by 1 surgeon. Most were performed by 2 (295 [50%]) or 3 surgeons (214 [36%]). Half the team members were nurses (mean 4, range 1-7). Both the complexity of the operation and the team size affected the proced - ure length significantly. When procedure complexity and patient condition were constant, adding 1 team member predicted a 7-minute increase in procedure length. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that a frequent change of core team members has a negative impact on surgical performance. Management strategies need to improve to optimize team efficiency in the operating room. © 2012 Canadian Medical Association.