New York, NY (June 11, 2015) – Findings from a study published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal showed weekend admissions for body contouring surgical procedures were associated with a statistically significant increase in hospitalization costs (difference of $35,481) and length of stay (5.68 days) when compared to weekday admissions for the same procedure. Mortality rates were also found to be higher on weekend admission (3.7%) versus on the weekday (0.5%), although this difference wasn’t considered statistically significant.
“The reasons for the less favorable outcomes can be attributed to the weekend effect because hospital staff and resources are decreased over the weekend, including consulting and diagnostic testing service, which leads to a decreased level of patient care and slower service in departments that support surgeons and their patients, such as processing X-rays, providing rehabilitation or monitoring pain. In addition, it is unlikely for the operating surgeon to have his or her usual operating team over the weekend which could slow down the surgery,” explained lead author Dr. Devinder Singh, Associate Professor, Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Maryland Medical Center.
“The weekend effect not only plays a part in plastic surgery procedures, but patients undergoing non-emergent surgeries have also been privy to this as well,” explained Foad Nahai, MD, Editor-in-Chief of the Aesthetic Surgery Journal. “Patients prefer the weekend because it’s more convenient from a scheduling standpoint, but unbeknownst to them they could be signing up for a longer hospital stay while acquiring additional costs.”
The study was conducted over an 11 year period on a total of 50,346 hospital admission cases of inpatient body contouring admissions examined by plastic surgeons from Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland and Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
To view the complete study visit the Aesthetic Surgery Journal site.
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About the Aesthetic Surgery Journal
Aesthetic Surgery Journal is a peer-reviewed international journal focusing on scientific developments and clinical techniques in aesthetic surgery. An official publication of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, ASJ is also the official English-language journal of many major international societies of plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery representing South America, Central America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. It is also the official journal of Canadian Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and The Rhinoplasty Society.
ASJ was indexed with MEDLINE/PubMed in 2008 and covered by the Thomson Reuters’ Journal Citation Report since 2011. ASJ’s current (2013) Impact Factor is 2.034. In the 2014 JCR, ASJ ranked 65th out of 202 journals in the overall surgery category. ASJ is presently ranked #1 among all aesthetic surgery journals and #2 among all plastic surgery journals.
