Safe on Saturday: Elective Abdominal and Perineal Surgeries Can Be Performed on Saturday Without Increased Risk of Poor Post-Operative Outcome.

Background: The "weekend effect," whereby surgeries performed during weekend haven been associated with poorer postoperative outcomes. We explored whether Saturday elective procedures at our hospital were associated with poorer post-operative outcomes when compared with weekday surgeries. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing elective surgery on the abdomen or perineum from 2008 to 2015 was performed. Procedures were classified by day (Group 1: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday; Group 2: Saturday). Multivariate regression analyses were performed to determine group differences in procedure duration, length-of-stay (LOS) and complications. Results: In adjusted analyses, there were no statistically significant differences between Group 1 (n = 816) and Group 2 (n = 269) procedures in terms of procedure duration (Group 2 - Group 1 = 13.6 min, p =.19), LOS (Group 2 - Group 1 = 1.9 days, p =.14) and complications (OR 0.58, p=.46). Conclusion: Saturday elective procedures were not associated with poorer outcomes. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.