Study of Cancelled Elective Surgical Operations

Cancellation of an elective operation is a very important problem, which is the cause for different types of stresses for patients and their families and results in loss of significant amount of time, money and hospital resources. Therefore, finding the main causes of operation postponement may help us to understand and reduce these problems. Material &

A special questionnaire was designed to gather information about different causes of operation cancellation and filled from October 23rd (Aban 1st) till November 21st (Azar 30 th), 2001 (1380) in all of the teaching hospitals of Yazd university. (S.Dr Rahnemoon, Afshar, Rah Ahan, Bahman and Savaneg Sukhteghy) Results were statistically evaluated..

180 of the 31437 scheduled operations had been cancelled (12.52%) Majority of cases (33.3%) had been cancelled due to the absence of the surgeons. This group ((Surgeons absent)) was the most common cause for the postponement of operations (36.7%). The secondary cause of cancellations was related to anesthetic team and operating room problems (25%), the patient’s reasons for cancellation was 16.2% and the most minimal cause of cancellation was insufficient hospital revenue (0.5%). The basis of disease or high risk patients for operation were the main causes of dysfunction of the anesthetic team (68.9%) and also the first cause of cancellation. The rate of cancellation was the most in the "older than 60 years" age group. (15.4%) The cancellation in women was 12.6% and in males 12.5%.

Surgeons schedule more patients keeping in mind cancellations which occur regularly due to patients, hospital, anesthesia, and operating room problems. This over scheduling is a problem itself, so preadmission evaluation clinics are recommended to decrease the rate of cancellations thereby saving the socioeconomic resources and decreasing patient’s stress.