Advantage Seen for Daytime Bone Surgery

Daytime bone surgery may be less likely to require follow-up procedures than surgery done at night, a study suggests. The study looked at 203 procedures to repair a broken thigh or shin bone. All of them included a supporting rod. Those done between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. were compared with those done between 4 p.m. and 6 a.m. People who had night surgeries more often required a follow-up procedure to remove the hardware because of pain. The study’s main author said surgeons may be more tired at night. Both groups had similar results for healing, recovery time and problems such as infection. The study was published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. HealthDay News wrote about it September 7.