To identify type and severity of surgical flow disruptions and to determine their impact on the perception of intraoperative teamwork.

Forty radical prostatectomy cases were studied in an academic department for urology. A standardized observational tool for identification of type and severity of flow disruptions was applied during real-time prostatectomy procedures. Additionally, all operating room team members evaluated intraoperative teamwork immediately after the procedure. Procedures were divided into 4 phases: prerobot, docking, console time, and postrobot.

A total of 2012 flow disruptions were observed, with an average rate of 16.27 events per hour. The highest rate was during the robot docking phase. Although the frequency of disruption types varied across phases, the most severe disruptions were related to communication and coordination during the prerobot and docking phase. Equipment- and communication-related disruptions were mostly severe during the time the surgeons were on the console. Among the surgeons, we identified a significant relationship between disruptions and intraoperative teamwork such that during procedures with frequent severe disruptions, surgeons experienced inferior teamwork (β = −0.40, P = .01). This was not the case for nurses and anesthetists.

Emphasis on improving operating room team communication and coordination would help to establish efficient and smooth surgical workflow.