Robotic colorectal procedures: does operative start time impact short-term outcome?

Background Previous publications revealed more complications in afternoon versus morning surgeries. With much attention given to robotic surgery outcomes, we sought to evaluate whether morning versus afternoon start time matters. Methods In a retrospective review of a prospective database, 210 robotic colorectal surgeries were grouped into 97 morning versus 113 afternoon cases. Preoperative risk factors, intraoperative events, and 30-day postoperative outcomes were compared. An independent samples t -test, Fisher's exact test, and linear regression were used for categorical and continuous variables. Results Morning patients were significantly younger than afternoon patients (59.5 vs. 65.5, p = 0.004), but there were no significant differences in gender, mean BMI, Charlson Comorbidity Index score, total operative time, console time, estimated blood loss, indications for surgery, and resection type. Morning patients had a significantly shorter mean length of stay (6.0 vs. 8.0 days, p = 0.021), but no significant differences in overall postoperative complications (0.30 vs. 0.30, p = 0.715), wound infection (5.2% vs. 7.1%, p = 0.564), anastomotic leak (0% vs. 2.7%, p = 0.251), ileus/small bowel obstruction (29.9% vs. 22.1%, p = 0.199), and 30-day readmission (8.2% vs. 7.1%, p = 1.000). When analyzing time of day as a continuous variable, we found no significant associations with intra- or postoperative complications. Conclusion We found no correlation between surgery start time and intra- or postoperative outcomes. This can be partly attributed to these cases being non-emergent and performed primarily by two experienced surgeons with highly trained operating room robotic staff in a large volume tertiary center. This, along with decreased fatigue attributed to superior ergonomics of robotic surgery, may have mitigated previously reported differences between morning and afternoon procedures.