Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The influence of lunar phases and zodiac sign ‘Leo’ on perioperative complications and outcome in elective spine surgery

  • Clinical Article - Spine
  • Published:
Acta Neurochirurgica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

A Correction to this article was published on 10 October 2023

This article has been updated

Abstract

Background

Many people believe that the moon has an influence on daily life, and some even request elective surgery dates depending on the moon calendar. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of ‘unfavorable’ lunar or zodiac constellations on perioperative complications and outcome in elective surgery for degenerative disc disease.

Methods

Retrospective database analysis including 924 patients. Using uni- and multivariate logistic regression, the likelihood for intraoperative complications and re-do surgeries as well as the clinical outcomes at 4 weeks was analyzed for surgeries performed during the waxing moon, full moon, and dates when the moon passed through the zodiac sign ‘Leo.’

Results

In multivariate analysis, patients operated on during the waxing moon were 1.54 times as likely as patients who were operated on during the waning moon to suffer from an intraoperative complication (OR 1.54, 95 % CI 1.07–2.21, p = 0.019). In contrast, there was a trend toward fewer re-do surgeries for surgery during the waxing moon (OR 0.51, 95 % CI 0.23–1.16, p = 0.109), while the 4-week responder status was similar (OR 0.73, 95 % CI 0.47–1.14, p = 0.169). A full moon and the zodiac sign Leo did not increase the likelihood for complications, re-do surgeries or unfavorable outcomes.

Conclusions

We found no influence of ‘unfavorable’ lunar or zodiac constellations on the 4-week responder status or the revision rate that would justify a moon calendar-based selection approach to elective spine surgery dates. However, the fact that patients undergoing surgery during the waxing moon were more likely to suffer from an intraoperative complication is a surprising curiosity and defies our ability to find a rational explanation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Change history

References

  1. Andrews EJ (1960) Moon talk: the cyclic periodicity of postoperative hemorrhage. J Fla Med Assoc 46:1362–1366

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Angermann A (2011) Hat der Mond einen Einfluss auf den Operateur? Eine Untersuchung anhand von Hüft-TEP-Operationen. Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Munich

    Google Scholar 

  3. Ficklscherer A, Angermann A, Weber P, Wegener B, Pietschmann M, Muller P (2012) Lunar phase does not influence perioperative complications in total hip arthroplasty. Arch Med Sci 8:111–114

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Foster RG, Roenneberg T (2008) Human responses to the geophysical daily, annual and lunar cycles. Curr Biol 18:R784–R794

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Gerold L (1998) Lunar phases and surgical outcome. Z Orthop Ihre Grenzgeb 136:Oa8–Oa10

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Guyatt GH, Juniper EF, Walter SD, Griffith LE, Goldstein RS (1998) Interpreting treatment effects in randomised trials. BMJ 316:690–693

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Holzheimer RG, Nitz C, Gresser U (2003) Lunar phase does not influence surgical quality. Eur J Med Res 8:414–418

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Joswig H, Hock C, Hildebrandt G, Schaller K, Stienen MN (2016) Microscopic lumbar spinal stenosis decompression: is surgical education safe? Acta Neurochir (Wien) 158:357–366

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Kuehnl A, Herzog M, Schmidt M, Hornung HM, Jauch KW, Hatz RA, Graeb C (2009) The dark side of the moon: impact of moon phases on long-term survival, mortality and morbidity of surgery for lung cancer. Eur J Med Res 14:178–181

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Mannion AF, Fekete TF, O'Riordan D, Porchet F, Mutter UM, Jeszenszky D, Lattig F, Grob D, Kleinstueck FS (2013) The assessment of complications after spine surgery: time for a paradigm shift? Spine J 13:615–624

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. May M, Braun KP, Helke C, Richter W, Vogler H, Hoschke B, Siegsmund M (2007) Lunar phases and zodiac signs do not influence quality of radical cystectomy—a statistical analysis of 452 patients with invasive bladder cancer. Int Urol Nephrol 39:1023–1030

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. McNamee R (2005) Regression modelling and other methods to control confounding. Occup Environ Med 62:500–506, 472

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Meiser A, Casagranda O, Skipka G, Laubenthal H (2001) Quantification of blood loss. How precise is visual estimation and what does its accuracy depend on? Anaesthesist 50:13–20

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Peters-Engl C, Frank W, Kerschbaum F, Denison U, Medl M, Sevelda P (2001) Lunar phases and survival of breast cancer patients—a statistical analysis of 3,757 cases. Breast Cancer Res Treat 70:131–135

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Riezler L (2010–15) Der Mondkalender. Natürlich und gesund leben mit dem Mond. Holzer Druck und Medien Weiler im Allgäu

  16. Schuld J, Slotta JE, Schuld S, Kollmar O, Schilling MK, Richter S (2011) Popular belief meets surgical reality: impact of lunar phases, friday the 13th and zodiac signs on emergency operations and intraoperative blood loss. World J Surg 35:1945–1949

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Smyrk J, Fekitoa R (1991) Effect of lunar phase on blood usage in a Sydney hospital. Skeptic 11:10–12

    Google Scholar 

  18. St. Galler Bauernverband (2010–15) St. Galler Bauer. galledia ag Flawil

  19. Steinhauser O (2010–15) Steinhauers Kempter Kalender. Neuer Schreib-Kalender auf das Schaltjahr nach der gnadenreichen Geburt unseres Herrn Jesu Christi. Kalenderverlag Steinhauser GmbH Kempten

  20. Stienen MN, Joswig H, Jucker D, Hildebrandt G, Schaller K, Gautschi OP (2015) Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: is surgical education safe? Acta Neurochir (Wien) 157:1395–1404

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Stienen MN, Smoll NR, Hildebrandt G, Schaller K, Gautschi OP (2014) Early surgical education of residents is safe for microscopic lumbar disc surgery. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 156:1205–1214

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Stienen MN, Smoll NR, Tessitore E, Schaller K, Hildebrandt G, Gautschi OP (2015) Surgical resident education in non-instrumented lumbar spine surgery: a prospective observational study with a 4.5-year follow-up. World Neurosurg 84:1589–1597

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Vorarlberger Schreib-Kalender (2010–15) Bregenzer Kalender für das Schaltjahr nach der gnadenreichen Geburt unseres Heilandes Jesu Christi. J.N. Teutsch Bregenz

  24. Wunder E, Schardtmüller M (2002) Is there a lunar effect on perioperative hemorrhage and other forms of surgical and perisurgical complications? Z Anomalistik 2:91–108

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dario Jucker, medical student at the University of Zurich, for helping with the data acquisition. We thank Dr. Nicolas Smoll for his advice on the statistical part of the manuscript. Figure 1 was obtained from the Abbey Library of St. Gallen (UNESCO World Heritage Site). We thank U5 for editing Fig. 2.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, Rorschacher Str. 95, 9007, St. Gallen, Switzerland

    Holger Joswig, Carolin Hock, Gerhard Hildebrandt & Werner Surbeck

  2. Department of Neurosurgery and Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Geneva, Rue Gabrielle Perret-Gentil 4, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland

    Martin N. Stienen

Authors
  1. Holger Joswig
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Martin N. Stienen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Carolin Hock
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gerhard Hildebrandt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Werner Surbeck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Holger Joswig.

Ethics declarations

Funding

No funding was received for this study.

Conflict of Interest

None.

Ethical approval

For this type of study formal consent is not required.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

The original version of this article was revised. The song was translated by “©Bertram Kottmann”.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Joswig, H., Stienen, M.N., Hock, C. et al. The influence of lunar phases and zodiac sign ‘Leo’ on perioperative complications and outcome in elective spine surgery. Acta Neurochir 158, 1095–1101 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-016-2802-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-016-2802-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation