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 Ophthalmol. Sep 12, 2026; 10(1): 122273
Published online Sep 12, 2026. doi: 10.5318/wjo.122273
Published online Sep 12, 2026. doi: 10.5318/wjo.122273
Impact of surgical start time on error rates in cataract surgery: A retrospective cohort study
Kevin Y Wu, Samuel Farag, Christian Goguen, Ananda Kalevar, Division of Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke J1K 2R1, Québec, Canada
Natalie Kearn, Department of Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston K7L 3N6, Ontario, Canada
Author contributions: Wu KY, Farag S, Kearn N, Goguen C, and Kalevar A performed the literature review and wrote and edited the manuscript; Wu KY, Farag S, and Kearn N analyzed and interpreted the data; Wu KY, Farag S, and Goguen C wrote the protocol; Farag S collected the data. All authors approved the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: The manuscript did not use any AI software. The authors take full responsibility and accountability for all content of this manuscript.
Supported by Fédération des Médecins Résidents du Québec, No. 2024-04.
Institutional review board statement: This project was approved by the Ethics Committee of Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre of Estrie - Sherbrooke University Hospital Center (Approval No. 2024-5172).
Informed consent statement: The retrospective design of this study, utilizing existing medical records, prevented researchers from establishing direct contact with participants. As a result, consent for publication does not apply.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
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: The dataset used and analyzed during the study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Kevin Y Wu, MD, Division of Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery, University of Sherbrooke, 3001, 12th Avenue North, Sherbrooke J1K 2R1, Québec, Canada.
Received: April 15, 2026
Revised: May 20, 2026
Accepted: June 8, 2026
Published online: September 12, 2026
Processing time: 148 Days and 11.8 Hours
Revised: May 20, 2026
Accepted: June 8, 2026
Published online: September 12, 2026
Processing time: 148 Days and 11.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This large retrospective cohort study evaluates whether surgical start time influences intraoperative complication rates in cataract surgery. Analyzing over 32000 cases, we found no significant variation in complication rates across the surgical day. These findings challenge assumptions that surgeon fatigue or time of day meaningfully impact surgical performance within standard operating hours. By isolating surgeon-related factors in a high-volume, standardized procedure, this study provides robust evidence supporting current scheduling practices and highlights the need to investigate alternative contributors to surgical error.