shutterstock_180816998Body contouring patients fare better when their procedures are performed on weekdays, a new study suggests.

Reasons for this differences may include lack of available staff, consulting services, and diagnostic test access. Specifically, surgeons would likely not be working with their usual teams on the weekend.

Similar observations have been made regarding for stroke and heart attack patients admitted on weekends.

The findings are published online in Aesthetic Surgery Journal.

Using the nationwide Inpatient Sample database to search for ICD-9 codes for liposuction and reduction of adipose tissue for weekday and weekend admissions, researchers identified 50,346 hospital admissions for inpatient body contouring from 2000 to 2010.

Compared to weekday admissions, weekend admissions were associated with a statistically significant increase in hospitalization costs ($35,481, p < 0.000) and in hospital length of stay (5.68 days, p < 0.000). Mortality rates were found to be higher on weekend admissions (3.7%) versus weekdays (0.5%) as well, but this was not found to be statistically significant. Only 1,081 cases (2%) were admitted during the weekend. It is also possible that gender differences between weekend and weekday cohorts, with more males during the weekend, contribute to the inconsistency in outcomes and costs, the researchers note.