Analysis of Operating Room Efficiency During Robot-Assisted Urologic Surgeries Utilizing Fixed (Nonprocedural) Operative Times.

Abstract

Objective: To analyze operating room (OR) efficiency by evaluating fixed OR times for three common urologic robot-assisted procedures. Methods: Over a 24-month period, we prospectively collected intraoperative data for 635 consecutive robot-assisted surgeries. Fixed (nonprocedural) OR times were evaluated for robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) (n = 146), robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) (n = 77), and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) (n = 412). Fixed OR times were defined as nonprocedural time in the OR, including in-room time to anesthesia release time (IRAT), anesthesia release to cut time (ARCT), in-room time to cut time (IRCT; IRAT+ARCT), and close time to wheels out time (CTWO). The effects of operation time of day and the number of anesthesia personnel (AP) present in procedure on fixed OR times were also analyzed. Results: Fixed OR times occupied 15.1% (IQR: 12.9%-17.1%) (RARC), 26.6% (22.9%-30.8%) (RAPN), and 20.1% (17.4%-23.1%) (RARP) of total OR time. Time of day did not have a negative effect on fixed OR times for robotic urologic surgeries. Median AP count was highest for RARC (median: 3 and range: 1-7). We did not find any association between AP count and fixed OR times for any of the procedures (p ≥ 0.19). Conclusions: Fixed OR times made up a significant percentage of total OR time for robot-assisted procedures and should be incorporated into OR efficiency analyses. The number of AP per case and time of day of procedure did not negatively impact fixed OR times in urologic robotic surgeries.