Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Orthop. Jun 18, 2026; 17(6): 120229
Published online Jun 18, 2026. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v17.i6.120229
Published online Jun 18, 2026. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v17.i6.120229
Predicting the unpredictable: A retrospective cohort study to determine the accuracy of estimated operative duration in orthopedic surgery
Ammar K Alomran, Manar Alossaif, Hadi Alhamal, Sarah Alhaddad, Abdulrazzag Alharbi, Department of Orthopedic, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia
Ammar Abusultan, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Lille University Hospital, Lille 59037, France
Dalal Albaiji, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Dammam Medical Complex, Dammam 32246, Saudi Arabia
Lama Alkhunaizi, Department of Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran 34451, Ash Sharqīyah, Saudi Arabia
Author contributions: Alomran AK was responsible for supervision, project administration, writing review and editing; Alossaif M and Alhamal H did the investigation, writing original draft, visualization; Abusultan A did the methodology and conceptualization; Albaiji D, Alkhunaizi L, Alharbi A, Alhaddad S were responsible for investigation and data curation.
AI contribution statement: During the preparation of this work, the authors used Generative AI tools (ChatGPT, OpenAI-version 5.1) solely to enhance the grammar, clarity, and readability of the manuscript. All study ideas, methodology, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of findings, and conclusions were fully developed by the authors without the influence of AI tools. The authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript and take complete responsibility for its content.
Institutional review board statement: It has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, No. IRB-2023-01-250.
Informed consent statement: In accordance with applicable ethical guidelines and institutional policies, the requirement for informed consent was waived, as the study involved analysis of existing data and posed minimal risk to participants. All data were handled in a manner that ensured confidentiality and anonymity. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the appropriate Institutional Review Board/Ethics Committee, which granted the waiver of informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors deny any conflict of interest.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement- checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: Not applicable.
Corresponding author: Hadi Alhamal, MBBS, Department of Orthopedic, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Bashar Ibn Burd Street, Al Aqrabiyah, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia. hadialhamal@gmail.com
Received: February 26, 2026
Revised: March 30, 2026
Accepted: May 11, 2026
Published online: June 18, 2026
Processing time: 117 Days and 11.5 Hours
Revised: March 30, 2026
Accepted: May 11, 2026
Published online: June 18, 2026
Processing time: 117 Days and 11.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Accurate prediction of surgical duration is essential for efficient operating room (OR) scheduling. This study found that both overestimation and underestimation of orthopedic surgery times are common, with surgery times being underestimated for nearly half of all procedures. Patient comorbidities were identified as a key factor influencing operative duration, highlighting the need for individualized, case-based time estimation to improve OR efficiency and surgical planning.