time to incision
Duration from patient arrival or decision to operate until the surgical incision is made.
Full Definition
Time to incision is a critical quality metric measuring the duration from a defined starting point (typically patient arrival, diagnosis, or decision to operate) until the surgical incision is made. In acute care surgery, this metric reflects the efficiency of emergency surgical care delivery and is particularly important for time-sensitive conditions such as trauma, ruptured aneurysms, or bowel ischemia. Factors affecting time to incision include triage efficiency, diagnostic workup duration, operating room availability, and team coordination. Reduction of time to incision is a common target for quality improvement initiatives in emergency surgery.
Usage
Usage note: Starting point (arrival vs. decision) should be clearly defined in documentation.
In Context
- "The trauma center achieved an average time to incision of 45 minutes for emergency laparotomies." — Quality improvement report
- "Time to incision was delayed due to unavailability of the operating room." — Case review documentation