Day Case Surgery: An Experience at General Hospital

OBJECTIVE: To find out the results of day case surgery at secondary health care hospital in terms of early complications, cost of surgery, hospital stay and patients compliance. DESIGN AND DURATION: Prospective descriptive study from July 2009 to December 2011. SETTING: Department of surgery civil hospital/city medical centre Jacobabad. PATIENTS: Three Hundred Fifty (350) patients who underwent day case surgery were included in this study. METHODOLOGY: The patients work up and counseling were done before, and asked to come on given date and time on the day of surgery again evaluated and shifted to operation theatre. After surgery they were kept for an average time under observation for 05 to 23 hours sent to home and strictly advised to contact the surgeon or hospital in case of problem. There follow up were advised accordingly on the 3rd and 7th post operative days. RESULTS: Total number 350 patients, 233 cases were males and 117 were females. Their age ranged from 6 months to 73 year. All patients went to their home within 05 to 23 hours. During follow up 43 telephone calls (mobile) were received for complaints and medications, 12 (3.42%) of them advised to attend OPD before 3rd POD. On examination of these patients 6 ( 1.71%) had bleeding at the wound site, 5 (1.42%) had pain at the site of surgery one (0.28%) of them developed retention of urine, 3 (0.85%) of them were readmitted while remaining were treated as OPD cases. Five cases were apprehensive and continued admission for another 24 hours on their own request. CONCLUSION: In selected cases day case surgery is cost effective subject to availability of good communication approaching the surgeon in case of any complication and emergency with skilled hands day case surgery may be cost effective with shorter post operative stay in hospital. Thus district hospital may be utilized for day case surgery with appropriate measures following the international guide lines for day case surgery.