Callum Jones
As part of a recent study, scientists claim there's one specific day in the week you really want to avoid having surgery on.
To be honest, surgery is surgery at the end of the day - if you need an operation, surely it doesn't matter what day you have it on as long as you have it done as soon as possible to ensure a return to a hopefully healthy life. Right?
Well, according to a recent study, patients who are admitted to hospital during one particular day of the week are significantly more likely to die.
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Whether it be a hip replacement or a more serious procedure, those who have an operation on a Friday are apparently 10 percent more at risk of passing away.
Dubbed the 'weekend effect', scientists believe the higher rate of death is due to a lack of senior staff working on Saturday and Sundays - the time post-op care is key for patients.
On top of that, the study states the weekend sees fewer additional services such as scans and tests available for patients.
Dr. Raj Satkunasivam of Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, and the expert who led the study, said: "Patients who underwent surgery immediately preceding the weekend had a significantly increased risk of complications, readmissions, and mortality compared with those treated after the weekend.
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"It is important for health care systems to assess how this phenomenon may impact their practices to ensure that patients receive excellent care irrespective of the day."
As part of the study, researchers analyzed data on close to 430,000 patients who underwent an operation in Ontario, Canada between 2007 and 2019.
Those who underwent surgery on a Friday saw a nine percent higher chance of death 30 days after operation, 10 percent at 90 days, and 12 percent at one year.
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On top of less senior staff working on a Friday and into the weekend, researchers have noted other reasons for the findings they concluded in their study.
Researches added: "Furthermore, weekend teams may be less familiar with the patients than the weekday team previously managing care."
However, they note that further data collection is needed to provide a conclusive result.
"Further study is needed to understand differences in care that may underpin these observations and ensure that patients receive high-quality care regardless of the day of the week," experts say.