In a patient with multiple medical conditions, problems classified as needing semi-elective surgeries may be postponed until emergent conditions have been addressed and the patient is medically stable. For example, whenever possible, pregnant women typically postpone all elective and semi-elective procedures until after giving birth. In some situations, an urgently needed surgery will be postponed briefly to permit even more urgent conditions to be addressed. In other situations, emergency surgery may be performed at the same time as life-saving
resuscitation efforts. Many surgeries can be performed as either elective or emergency surgeries, depending on the patient's needs. A sudden worsening of
gallbladder disease may require immediate removal of the gallbladder by emergency surgery, but this surgery is more commonly scheduled in advance. An
appendectomy is considered emergency surgery, but depending upon how early the diagnosis was made, the patient may have more time before the appendix risks rupturing or the infection spreads. Also, in certain emergency conditions, even ones like a
heart attack or
stroke, surgery may or may not need to be utilized.
Economic Impact of Waiting Times Economic modelling studies have shown that reducing waiting times for elective surgeries improves patient health outcomes and can be cost-effective or even cost-saving. A systematic review of economic evaluations from high-income countries, including Canada, France, Australia, Spain, and the United States, found that shorter wait times for joint replacement, cataract surgery, bariatric surgery, and transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) often resulted in lower long-term healthcare costs and better quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). For instance, immediate total knee arthroplasty was associated with savings of over $1,800 and a gain of 0.57 QALYs compared to a two-year delay, while earlier bariatric surgery significantly reduced diabetes and hypertension management costs over a ten-year horizon. A related review focusing on low- and middle-income countries, specifically Egypt, found that prolonged waiting times are associated with delayed return to work, increased caregiver burden, and greater societal costs, particularly in public healthcare systems with constrained capacity. Investment in early surgical intervention was shown to relieve pressure on health systems, improve population health, and increase economic productivity in resource-limited settings. ==Best practices==