Same-Day Discharge After Robotic-Assisted Sacrocolpopexy

Objective The aim of the study was to compare unplanned postoperative encounters in women discharged same day versus later after robotic-assisted sacrocolpopexy (RA-SCP). Methods This is a retrospective cohort study of women who underwent RA-SCP at a tertiary care center January 2013 to September 2015. Women were divided into 2 cohorts based on their day of discharge: (1) same day or (2) postoperative day 1 (POD >= 1) or later. Our primary outcome was unplanned provider visits (clinic, urgent care, emergency department, or hospital readmission) during the 6 weeks after surgery. Secondary outcomes included unplanned postdischarge nurse or physician phone calls. Logistic regression models were created to control for potential confounders. Results Two hundred seventy-two women were included; 80 underwent same-day discharge versus 192 discharged POD 1 or later (187 on POD 1, 5 on POD 2). Women discharged same day were older (61.3 vs 58.5 years, P < 0.05), more likely to have a start time before noon (85% vs 67.6%, P < 0.01), received less intraoperative intravenous fluids (1153 mL vs 1536 mL, P < 0.01), had shorter procedures (237 vs 256 minutes, P < 0.01), and spent more time in the postanesthesia care unit (213 vs 158 minutes, P < 0.01). There were no differences in unplanned provider visits between women discharged same day versus later (18.8% vs 27.6%, P = 0.12). No differences were observed in unplanned clinic visits, emergency department visits, or readmissions. In logistic regression models, unplanned provider visits (odds ratio = 0.35, 95% confidence interval = 0.30-1.54) and phone calls (odds ratio = 0.69, 95% confidence interval = 0.54-2.58) were not significantly different between groups. Conclusions Same-day discharge after RA-SCP is safe and does not result in increased health care utilization (provider visits or postoperative phone calls).