Best Day of the Week for Surgery

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TakeStock

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Joined
Feb 13, 2009
Messages
181
Location
Cincinnati, OH
I have my angio tomorrow (Fri Feb 20) and afterwards I should be ready to set the surgery date, some time in early March. My question: if you could choose any day of the week, Monday through Friday, for your surgery, which day would be ideal?

I expect and hope to be out and back home after 4-5 days. Based on my experiences after my last stay in the hospital during the New Years holiday, I think I want to have the first couple of days be during the week, to make sure my doctors (surgeon, cardio, PCP) are all around post-op. But I also want to make sure the doctors are working when I get home in case I have questions/concerns ? it?s hard to get hold of anyone on the weekends. So THURSDAY seems like the best day for surgery, getting home around Monday. Thoughts? Thanks.
 
I have my angio tomorrow (Fri Feb 20) and afterwards I should be ready to set the surgery date, some time in early March. My question: if you could choose any day of the week, Monday through Friday, for your surgery, which day would be ideal?

I expect and hope to be out and back home after 4-5 days. Based on my experiences after my last stay in the hospital during the New Years holiday, I think I want to have the first couple of days be during the week, to make sure my doctors (surgeon, cardio, PCP) are all around post-op. But I also want to make sure the doctors are working when I get home in case I have questions/concerns ? it?s hard to get hold of anyone on the weekends. So THURSDAY seems like the best day for surgery, getting home around Monday. Thoughts? Thanks.


I prefer the beginning of the week, I rather be sure the hospital is full staffed during the first couple days post op than when I (or family member) am home. From our experience when there were issues after home we never had trouble getting a hold of someone, but of course that also depends on what kind of hospital you go to, Big teaching hospitals have fellows on call 24/7 as well as at least an attending cardiologist for questions/problems.
IMO Thursday doesn't leave much recovery time before the weekend.
 
What day is the best anesthesiologist on duty?

What day is the best anesthesiologist on duty?

You know, Take Stock, I recently said to my wife I thought I wanted to do it on a Tuesday. My thinking? I didn't want someone recovering from a weekend binge doing my surgery.

Her reply? She would pick whatever day the most experienced, most qualified, best anesthesiologist (sp?) was going to be working.

Makes sense to me!

Good luck,
Randy
 
Tuesday.
I know too many stories about Monday ops, and if you are in more than 4 days, week-ends aren't much better.
Another suggestion, never agree to surgery the day after a holiday.;)
 
Tuesday.
I know too many stories about Monday ops, and if you are in more than 4 days, week-ends aren't much better.
Another suggestion, never agree to surgery the day after a holiday.;)

or right before one, then everyone senior is off the next couple days.
 
Tuesdays and Wedsnesdays, even though I had mine on a Monday (I had no choice). Te good thing about early in the week, surgeon and staff are at the hospital for the rest of the week!
 
My husbands surgery was on Tuesday and that was the day we would have picked. He did not get to go home until the next Tuesday because his INR was too low, We finally went home with lovenox shots for me to inject.
 
i'm scheduled for a friday... teaching hospital so it doesn't really matter much.... but to me i would pick the absolute closest day to now.... this waiting has really sucked!
 
I had my surgery on a Tuesday. Lucky me my cardio was on call for the week-end and the surgeon that assisted in my surgery was also on call. I saw them both on the week-end as I didn't leave the hospital until Monday. They both made rounds on Saturday and Sunday.
Earline
 
]My first was days before Christmas. Not good but no choice as it was emergent.

My second was a Thursday. Was fine.... Mass General is major teaching hospital for Harvard.
 
If your situation is uncomplicated by other health conditions, you may be on the "Rapid after Bypass Back into Telemetry (RABBIT) program". If so, you would be released on the third day after surgery. If you seriously believe you wouldn't get anyone on the weekend, before surgery get explicit instructions how to get help on the weekend.
A frequent problem with being released on the weekend is that lower levels of staffing slow the process. I got shunted into a holding area after the required x-ray and my nurse came for me because they needed the bed.
 
Mine was Tuesday.
I would be more concerned about being in the first of the day, than the day of the week.

I'm still amazed at the people only spending 5, 6 or 7 days in the hospital for valve surgery.
But most were doing that 17.5 years ago but it took me 20 days.
 
Sounds like lots of us had Tuesday, and that would be my choice. I would not prefer Monday because I know how I feel at work on Monday, even if I haven't been on a binge! I would never want Friday, again because that's the day I'm the most unwilling to give 100%! Some hospitals have more "contract staff" on the weekends, so the nurses don't always know the hospital procedures or the doctors and are more fearful of bothering them at home, so I would want my surgery earlier in the week.

Anyway, I had surgery on Tuesday, June 30, and was discharged on Monday, July 6. I was there over a holiday, but it was on a Saturday and I was about to be discharged, so it was no big deal. I could have been discharged on Sunday, but chose to come home on Monday so my kids would be at daycare and I could rest for a while before they came home.

I would never recommend the time between Christmas and New Year's. I had a baby on December 29 (16 years ago) and had to deal with lots of contract staff.
 
Mine was Tuesday.
I would be more concerned about being in the first of the day, than the day of the week.

I'm still amazed at the people only spending 5, 6 or 7 days in the hospital for valve surgery.
But most were doing that 17.5 years ago but it took me 20 days.

My surgeon asked me to choose Tuesday. He said it was his "best" day and also, as Olefin has said, first surgery of the day!!

I would have been released that Saturday as the heart stuff was fine, but I had had to deal with a urinary tract infection so they wouldn't release me until Sunday morning.

Ask your surgeon which day he prefers. Mine volunteered it!! They're human, they have their favorite work days! :)

Good luck!

Marguerite
 
I had mine on a Thursday and was the only surgery my surgeon had scheduled that day. I was in ICU until late Saturday and then had the best nurse of my whole stay on Sunday. I would be ok with anything mid-week.

Kim
 
My friend did research on his surgeon and found that Tuesday PM was the best as far as stats were concerned. I wondered if the PM surgery was less complicated to allow for the fatigue factor...thus the stats would be skewed as the outcome would be a result of the less complicated procedures and healthier patients.....just a thought. I'm still waiting for a date and would prefer Tuesday....we'll see.
 

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