High Death Risk from Hip Surgery Linked to Emergency Room Traffic by Anjanee Sharma on March 11, 2021 at 5:29 PM
Hip fracture operations can be stressful, particularly for older adults. Around 13% of patients aged above 70 don t survive 60 days after the fracture.
Research shows that the chance of survival for older adults may depend on how busy the surgeons are with other emergency procedures. When the operating room is busy, 20% more patients die within 60 days after the operation, says Professor Johan Håkon Bjørngaard.
When the demand for surgery is high, surgeons can get very busy. During such times, hip fracture patients have to wait 20 % longer on average before being operated on, which can have serious, sometimes fatal, consequences.